Betrayal
by mabelreid
Summary: Sequel to "My Immortal" Detective Anna Sorenson is now Special Agent Anna Sorenson. A new series of murders in Atlanta Georgia reunites her with the team. But, it's all happened before. Two agents must face their memories and personal demons to solve them
1. Chapter 1

_**A/n hello all... Here is the sequel to "My Immortal." This will follow cannon up to "The Crossing." After that it becomes AU. Will is out of the picture as is Kevin. We will see more of Anna Sorenson who's now an FBI Agent. **_

_**Disclaimer: See my profile **_

Carrie Norton put down her hairbrush after one hundred strokes. Her arm felt like it was going to fall off, but it was worth it. Her red hair was smooth and it shone in the lamplight. She picked up a hair clip with gold and blue sequins studding it, and slid it into the left side of her hair to hold back her long bangs.

Her best friend Kathy was picking her up in a few minutes and she was so excited. Her heart was going so fast it made her head a little light. Kathy and Carrie had started tenth grade just a month before, and this was their first real party and dance. Her mother was allowing her go to the party at the high school on the condition that Mrs. Ferrell picked them up and drove them there.

She was relieved that dates weren't a requirement for this party. Her mother wouldn't let her date till she was sixteen and that was still four months away. It seemed like it was an eternity to her.

She had put on brand new blue jeans, and a white silk blouse with short sleeves and a matching denim jacket. It was the first nice blouse her mother had bought for her, and Carrie thought it went well with her blue eyes and red hair. Her mother said she had beautiful copper hair, but Carrie was convinced it was plain red.

"Carrie…"

Her mother sounded irritated. Carrie wondered what she'd done this time to tick off her mother.

"Yeah Mom…" She yelled down the stairs.

"I told you ta give Chester somethin' ta eat before you left."

Damn… She forgot got the dog. She grabbed her student ID, and the twenty dollars her dad had given her at dinner for the dance and some snacks. She shoved the items into her front pocket with her cell phone.

"I'm comin' Mom."

She ran down the stairs to the kitchen where her mother was clearing the table, and her father was helping load the dishwasher. Her mother was small, with blond hair and hazel eyes. She had a pleasant open face that was round and inviting. She worked as a caterer for the city's most successful catering firm. She said that food was love and if you prepared it in just the right way, you could rule the world. Her father, who had red hair and blue eyes like Carrie, always laughed and asked her mother if that was true why chefs didn't rule the world,. Karen Norton only rolled her eyes and reminded him that it was a subtle sort of rule. Mark Norton would laugh some more and then ask for seconds of whatever masterpiece his wife created that day.

Mark Norton was several inches over six feet and Carrie was right in the middle of them at five six. Her dad looked up when she ran into the room and grinned. "You better look after that dog. He looks ready to attack the fish tank."

"Sorry Daddy… I thought it was Chris' turn ta feed him." She called to the dog that whined and followed her to the utility room off the kitchen.

"Hey boy… Here ya go." She dumped dog food into the battered red bowl on the floor next to the dark blue water bowl.

Chester barked at her and then looked at the bowl of food like it was something nasty. Carried laughed and rubbed his head. He was a golden retriever with a smooth, golden coat, fresh from the groomer's. His front was white that shaded into cream, light yellow and gold as though he'd had them added by a doggie hair dresser. He was one year old and he loved to beg for people food.

"No way… You get ta eat this," She pointed at the food and he whined. "It's good for ya. People food will make ya sick."

Chester sneezed and nudged at her hand with his nose. "Nope… that's all ya get." She insisted.

He lay down and proceeded to attack his food while ignoring her. Their doorbell rang and excitement shot through her stomach. It was time to go.

"Later Chester…" She ran out of the utility room and almost knocked over her little sister Christine. "Hey…" Chrissy yelled. "Are ya blind?"

"Shut up Chrissy." Carrie shouted over her shoulder.

Her little sister was a redhead too and she had her mother's hazel eyes. She stuck her tongue out at her older sister. "You just think you're so cool 'cause ya get ta go ta that stupid party."

Carrie ignored her sister and opened the door to her friend. Kathy Ferrell was three inches taller than Carrie and her black hair was spiked up all over her head. She wore black jeans, a black tee shirt, and a black jacket. Her eyes were dark brown and rimmed with smoky eye liner and purple eye shadow. She wore red lipstick and had her ears pierced. Carrie wanted to wear makeup and have pierced ears, but her mother was adamant she wait till she was sixteen.

"Ya look great," Carrie said.

"And you look like you're still in junior high."

"Kathy…"

"Hello Kathy," Carrie's mom said from behind them. "How's your mother?"

"She's fine," Kathy responded. "Look, Mrs. Norton we're gonna be late so…"

"Okay, I know…" Carrie's mother relented. "Be back by ten."

"Oh mom…" "No arguments!"

Mrs. Norton followed them out to the car and spoke briefly with Virginia Ferrell. Carrie was blushing hard by the time the women agreed that the girls would meet Mrs. Ferrell outside the gym by nine forty five to make Carrie's curfew.

As the car pulled away from the curb, Kathy nudged Carrie as they sat in the back seat. "When is she goin' ta stop treatin' ya like a kid?"

"I don't know… She always embarrasses me like that. I can't wait ta get out of school and have my own place so I don't have ta do what she tells me anymore."

"We'll get an apartment together for college. We'll be able ta do whatever we want."

Carrie watched the houses flash by out the window, while Kathy began talking about Jerry and Tommy. The boys were meeting them at the dance and Carrie was so excited to see the boy she'd had a crush on since the first day at school.

Virginia Ferrell pulled up to the curb in front of the modern high school that was spread out over most of the block and was just one story. The second building to the right of the school was the big gymnasium. There was an outdoor track that Carrie ran on with the team. She was the only sophomore picked for the team that year. In fact, she had practice the next day and would be home on time despite her complaining to her mother. There was nothing she would do to mess up going to State championships with the team that year.

"Remember what Mrs. Norton said." Virginia reminded them. She was two inches taller than her daughter and had the same black hair and brown eyes.

"Ok mom…" Kathy rolled her eyes.

"I saw that… Do you want me ta find more chores for ya tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry mom, but we're not kids anymore."

"You're fifteen years old, that's still a kid. Just because I let you wear clothes, and makeup that fit your style doesn't mean I'm going ta put up with boys, drugs or drinkin'."

"Ok mom… Can we go in now? This is embarrassin'!"

"Yes… You can go in now." She imitated her daughter's sarcastic tone and winked at Carrie in the fading light.

"I love you Kathy." She added.

"Love you mom," Kathy said as an afterthought.

The girls watched the car drive away. They looked at each and then at the school. "Let's go," Kathy said.

--

Detective Chad Weir crouched over the body of Mrs. Norton. Her face was peaceful and he could almost imagine that she'd gone to sleep and never awoke. The gunshot to her temple said otherwise. Her husband lay where he'd fallen, shot twice once in the knee and another in the head.

There was blood spatter on the entryway table, and all over the cream colored roses in the crystal vase that sat in the center of the glass table. There was a mirror over the table and one tiny spot of red marked the exact center of the glossy, reflective surface.

Christine Norton was upstairs and had suffered the worst of the attack. Chad stayed crouched where he was wondering why they had three home invasions like this and they were no closer getting to him than they'd been six months ago.

His mind went back to what he'd seen upstairs and his stomach tried to revolt. But… he hadn't puked since he was a rookie and he wasn't going to start now.

"Porter…" He said to his partner, who was talking to a tall, dark haired woman at the other end of the room.

"Yeah…"

Chad stood up to his full six foot three inch height and frowned. He put his hands in his pockets and tried to sound casual.

"We need the help of the BAU."

Jack Porter's face shut down and the dark haired woman walked away. "I don't see how callin' in the Feds is going ta help us."

"We've been trying ta solve this for six months. We don't have so much as a fingerprint and -"

"We can do this without their help."

"No we can't… Listen ta reason Jack," He was shouting now and the CSIs were staring at them.

"Fine… call in the Feds. I don't care what ya do anymore."

The man slammed out of the room and Chad sighed. His partner was a good man and a great cop, but he hated the feds. Why couldn't his partner see that asking for help wasn't a sign of failure?

"We're finished in here Detective." One of the CSIs was standing there looking at him expectantly.

"Oh fine… look I'll call you later when you've had a chance to go through and analyze all of this.

"Okay…"

Detective Weir left the house by the same route as his partner and pulled out his cell phone. It was time to call his captain and get help with these murders.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/n hey all here is the next chapter... I have to thank all of you that have added this to your alerts, or favorites, or have reviewed. Also thanks to my wonderful beta REIDFANATIC for helping me with suggestions and encouragment.**_

_**Disclaimer: See my profile**_

JJ kicked off the black heels she'd been wearing and dropped her silk wrap on the chair next to the door. Her bag went down next to it and she pulled off the little black dress she wore, while trudging down the hallway to her bedroom.

There was a picture of her aunt and uncle on the wall in the hallway, smiling down at her. She wished she hadn't put the picture there. It witnessed every time she came home in failure from another date that didn't work out.

She'd thought that William was the one, but in the end it didn't work out, just like all the rest of the men she'd dated.

She pulled off her stockings and let them fall with her dress to the floor. She opened her closet and found her most comfortable pair of pink pajama bottoms and a white cotton tank. She trudged back out to the kitchen past the smiling faces of the people that had raised her from a child.

There was a bottle of white wine in the kitchen with her name on it. She was going to have a glass and relax before getting into bed and forgetting about Mark.

The man was a complete jerk. He'd been so nice at the party she'd met him at with her friends from college. He girlfriend Sarah had assured her that Mark was a gentleman and a great guy. Yeah… all he'd wanted to do all night was get in her pants.

She went back to her bedroom and crawled into bed with the wine. Maybe there was a good movie on the television she could watch that would get her mind off her pathetic love life. She took another sip of the wine and thought it wasn't all bad. At least she hadn't let William get her pregnant. She thought she had been, but it was a false positive and turned out to be stress that made her miss her period. Then William got upset that she wouldn't marry him and left. She was glad… He'd been a bit of a whiny wimp that didn't want her in the field.

She took another sip from the glass and frowned when her cell phone rang. This time of night only met one thing. It was time to get dressed again. Break time was over, and her weekend most likely ruined.

--

The man watched Carrie Norton with her crush, Tommy Darger walking out front of the school. The night was black and the shadows were deep. He had to hurry... It was getting late and soon the girl's friend would come looking for her to meet her mother. It had taken longer then he'd thought at the Norton house. But then, he did tend to get carried away in his work. He just enjoyed it so much, it was hard not to draw out the agony and the pleasure.

The two kids didn't realize what lived in the shadows as they came closer to his hiding place. They were innocent, he though with some derision. He was going to show her that life wasn't all dances and school girl crushes.

His heart began to beat faster in anticipation as they came closer to where he stood. It was unfortunate that he'd have to take out the young man, but he had to have her. They came closer in the night and the chill wasn't the only thing that mad him shiver. She was so beautiful! Anger consumed his brain and the voice that spoke to him said that she was like all the others and had to be punished.

The couple drew closer and then passed him without noticing that he was there. They never noticed till it was too late. He stepped out of the shadows.

--

Emily left the living room and headed up the stairs to the bedroom she shared with Reid. He'd retreated up there to work on his latest mathematics paper for the American Mathematician Society magazine. It was an article he'd been sweating over for three weeks. She tried to be supportive of his writing, but let's face it, she wasn't a genius and didn't understand anything he said when he'd excitedly tell her about the article. She just sat there, and smiled, and tried not to fall asleep.

The light from the desk he'd set up in one corner of their bedroom slipped out from under the door and cast a bit of golden glow from under the door. She walked up to the door without turning on the light in the hall and opened the door.

Reid was leaning over his laptop and typing furiously. She was able to sneak up behind him without making him turn around. She was about to distract him with a kiss to his neck, when she saw that he was typing an email.

She caught the words: Dear Anna and Emily don't know when he must have heard her behind him. He jumped in his chair and spun around to confront her angry face.

"What the hell is this," She said very quietly.

He turned back and minimized the document, and then turned back to face Emily who was white in the face and her body was trembling with rage.

"Emily…"

"Don't use that tone with me Spencer Reid."

"Will you let me explain?" He stood up.

"Why… I thought you told me that you weren't going to talk to Anna unless it was on the phone in my hearing."

"I don't understand why you're so upset. She's a friend. She helped us catch a killer."

"I know that… Why do you have to keep reminding me of that?"

"She's a friend and she's a fellow agent."

"So that makes it okay for you to email her all the time."

She could see the red creeping into his face and she was perversely glad to see it. It took a hell of a lot to make him mad and a part of her cheered that she'd gotten under his skin.

"I don't email her all the time. She wanted me to know that she got transferred from Las Vegas to Atlanta a week ago. She's not going to be able to look in on my mom anymore."

Emily gave a short barking laugh that was full of sarcasm. "Oh… well I guess you're going to have to rely on your mother's doctors again.

He went white in the face and she realized she'd gone way too far, but it was too late now.

"I'm sorry Spencer I didn't mean -"

"I can't believe you just said that. You know why I asked Anna to keep an eye on her. I knew it wasn't going to last. I knew she was going to put in a transfer after six months in Vegas. She was eligible to go back to her home state. It's what she wanted to do."

"I know… You've told me that a thousand times and -"

Her phone rang and she cursed the name on the caller ID. "It's JJ… This isn't over!"

"Good… we need to talk about why you're so jealous and insecure." He shot back.

She opened the phone and shot him a look that would have burned through stone.

--

"Oh Derek… That feels so good." She sighed.

"I thought you'd like it baby girl."

"I do… Don't you stop or I'll deck you."

"So violent," He rumbled, while his hand moved around her feet.

"Hey… my ankles are swollen and my feet hurt." She reminded him.

"I know... I'm just sorry that you have to go through all of this sweetness."

"I'm not, it reminds me that I was smart enough to dump Kevin and realize that you're the only one I'll ever love."

Morgan planted a kiss on one of her ankles and she sighed happily. "I'm just glad that Reid pointed out to me that there was more to my feelings for you than just friendship." It had been the most humiliating thing in his life to realize with Reid's help, what he was losing. When had his friend got so smart about love and relationships?

"I'm just glad that you decided to listen to him." Penelope reminded him.

Her head was on an old plaid throw pillow that didn't match the room, but had belonged in her parent's house before they died. He knew it was a source of comfort to her and didn't mind its prominent place on his dark brown leather couch.

"I was wrong and both of you were right. Are you happy now?" His hands were sliding over her toes and massaging them one by one.

"Yeah… I'm very happy."

Her hands lay on her belly, feeling the baby kick her enthusiastically. It was so strange to be pregnant with Derek's baby and be his wife. It had all happened so fast it was like a romance movie or something.

"What are you thinking baby girl?"

He'd left her feet alone and was sitting next to her on the couch with her legs in his lap. His left hand covered hers and felt his baby move.

"That I'm the luckiest girl in the world."

"No… you're not lucky… I am. You're smart and -"

His phone buzzed and they both sighed. It was always too good to be true. She started to get up and he gave her a stern look while talking on the phone. She recognized that it was JJ and that meant work. He shut the phone and said.

"You aren't going anywhere."

"You'll need my help. The doctor said I would be fine as long as I take it easy. You know that working with my babies is the most relaxing thing I can do. Just try not to send me anything icky."

"Icky… Is that a technical term?"

She pushed him away from her and stood up awkwardly. "I'm going to go get dressed, if you're going to tease me."

He shot to his feet and embraced her hard. "I only tease you because its fun and you never back down."

"You better believe it hot stuff. We've got a case though, so I get back to you about that 'icky' remark later."

"I'm looking forward to it."

--

David Rossi sat in front of his lap top and stared at the screen of the computer. All of the research was done. The outline was written and the yellow pad sitting next to him that contained the first draft of his new book was covered with cross-outs and corrections. It was ready to be transferred to his computer.

He cracked the knuckles on one hand and looked at the cursor on the screen and the white background of the word processing program. The cursor blinked on and off in a very mocking manner, it seemed to Rossi. It was a simple matter really, just put your hands on the keyboard and start typing, he thought.

If it was so simple then why couldn't he do it? Why couldn't he start the book? It's not like this was his first attempt at writing about the terrible things he'd seen. What was so different about this time? The long hand writing had gone fine, so why not the transfer to the computer? He put the cold cup of coffee he'd been sipping aside and put his hands on the keyboard.

His cell phone rang and he almost hit the roof in surprise. The name on the caller ID screen made him curse. It looked like his weekend plans to get the second draft of his first chapter were smashed to hell.

--

The man stepped out and hit the boy across the back of the neck. The girl screamed and he silenced her with a similar blow. The two kids lay on the ground and he dealt with the young man first, pulling his body into the deeply shadowed corner. His left hand hurt from the bite the dog had given him when he'd taken care of her family. Oh well… the dog wouldn't be biting anyone ever again.

He heaved the girl over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and walked with her to his car in the back parking lot. He passed at least four cars with fornicating teenagers that didn't notice him. He smiled at the stupidity of children. If he wasn't busy with Carrie Norton, he might have had some fun with them.

His car was at the back of the parking lot. He put her in the back and went around the driver side. He turned on the engine, and the strains of Mozart wafted out of the disc player to his grateful ears. He'd done it again. He was on his way to having a really fun time with this girl.

--

Aaron Hotchner put the last of the day's paper to one side and looked at the television on the mahogany stained dresser that stood at the other side of his bedroom. The bed was a full size and brand new. He'd had to get a different bed to sleep in after Haley left. He couldn't be sure that she hadn't brought one of her lovers into their bed on the nights he was gone.

He put the paper on the night table that matched the dresser and shut out a lamp with a cream colored shade. The entire room was done in browns and cream color. He'd repainted the entire room in chocolate tones. He didn't want any of her left in this room.

The carpet had been taken up too and was new. It too was chocolate brown, and matched the walls. The walls were bare except for one photograph taken by an artist that he didn't remember, but it was an old lighthouse on the shores of Maine. The picture was black and white and the starkness of the photo appealed to the black mood he seemed to have fallen in since she left and demanded a divorce.

He was just switching out the light when his phone buzzed. He looked at the caller ID and sighed. It looked like the weekend they'd all wanted was a memory. He was glad now that Haley had refused to let him take Jack for the weekend. He wouldn't have to disappoint his son. On the other hand, he had to find some way to make her understand that he loved his son and wanted to be part of his life.

He stepped into the bathroom and turned on the water for a very quick shower. Once again he was going to have to put that particular problem on the shelf for his job.

--

The tall man carried his special burden down the long flight of concrete stairs. The light at the bottom of the staircase turned on as he passed it. Grey concrete walls and grey concrete floors were the only color in this underground tunnel. It was just wide enough for him to extend his arms with the tips touching the block walls. Not that he needed to stretch, he prided himself in being in great shape at all times.

The door at the end of hallway was always locked. He opened it and carried the girl to one end of the room. There was a narrow cot with blindingly white sheets covering the mattress. The room was empty except for a door to the left for a very small bathroom.

He restrained her with shackles to her feet. There was enough slack to allow her to walk, but not to run. There was no where to run to any way. She was beginning to stir at the same time he finished pulling off her jacket

"Good… I'm sure you're very confused, but don't worry my sweet. We'll get to know each other very well."


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/n hey all... here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it! I had to bribe the muse with chocolate to get her butt in gear and get this written. Hopefully she'll be more cooperative for the next chapter.**_

_**Disclaimer: See my profile.**_

The team gathered in the conference room an hour later. JJ swept into the room with file folders in her arms, she looked as grim as Hotch had ever seen, and her hands were shaking.

"We've got a bad one." She said without greeting anyone in the room.

"So what else is new," Morgan said.

"Morgan," Hotch warned wearily.

JJ pushed the button on her remote and a picture of a pretty young woman appeared on the white screen at the far end of the room. She had long, copper red hair and blue eyes. She was smiling widely for the camera, and it looked to Rossi like it was a school picture taken at the beginning of the year.

"This is Carrie Norton. She went missing from a school dance tonight in Atlanta Georgia. While she was at the dance, her entire family was killed in their home. It's the third in a series of murders that have happened over the last six months. The families are murdered in their homes and the oldest daughter goes missing within hours. So far, none of the girls have been found, dead or alive."

They all looked at each other and varying looks of "Oh God, this is going to be bad," rippling over their faces.

"He definitely has a type," Rossi said, breaking the silence with a gross understatement.

"Yeah… they could all be sisters, or cousins, or even twins." Emily had returned to thumbing through her copy of the case file.

"The parents were shot and the younger of the two female siblings was raped and murdered. The position of the bodies of the parents, and time of death confirms that he took out the parents first," Hotch read from his case file.

"How do we know the same man has abducted the older sibling," Morgan asked?

"The time frame between the murders and the disappearances of the girls suggests that the families died first, and then he was able to snatch the girls in all of the cases." Rossi explained.

"So, he was watching the girls and their families. He knew when the girls would be home and when they would be away." Morgan theorized.

"Yes…" Hotch answered. "We'll continue this on the plane. We don't have much time."

They all stood to go gather their ready bags. Emily shot a glance at Reid who was staring into space with a look that she knew meant his whole being was into solving this case. Did it also mean that he'd forgotten what she'd said? Of course it didn't, who was she trying to kid?

"Emily…" Morgan was eyeing her curiously.

"Yeah… on the plane," She said hollowly and passed Hotch on her way out.

"Reid…" Hotch said sharply.

Reid turned his large eyes up to the sound of his unit chief's voice. He looked stunned, as though the case was beyond anything he'd ever seen. Yet Hotch knew that wasn't the reason for the misery that haunted his eyes. Reid was going to have to deal with his personal problems, and put his memories of Georgia aside.

"Did you hear me? We need to get to Atlanta fast."

"Yeah… I'm sorry Hotch."

"Don't apologize… Just get your bag, and your head together now!"

Hotch left the conference room, expecting to be followed, and he was by a very distracted Reid and a very pregnant Garcia.

"Reid… What's wrong?" She hissed at him out of the corner of her mouth.

"Garcia," Hotch snapped back at her. "We need everything you can get on all four of these families. I want to see everything in public record, and everything you can find that isn't public record." He stopped and turned back to her with a grim stare. "Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes sir," She nodded. Her hair was pulled up to the top of her head with a gold butterfly clip and the blond curls bobbed when her head moved.

Hotch gave Reid another hard look and he followed Hotch to the bullpen without another word to his best friend.

"You can distract me for awhile boss man, but not forever." Garcia muttered while walking to her office and her babies.

--

The plane seemed very small to Rossi. There was a tension in the air that went beyond the expected stress of the case. He watched the rest of the team sit down and noticed that Reid didn't take his usual place next to Emily. So, there was something going on with Reid and Emily.

They strapped in for take off and Rossi went back to reviewing his file on the Norton girl case. It wasn't any of his business what was going on between the two profilers. Three failed marriages had taught him not to get involved in the romantic problems of others.

When the plane had reached its cruising altitude and JJ had left her seat to take a call, Hotch began to speak to the rest of the team.

"Alright… We know that he watched to families for a long time before making his move. He knew too much about them and their lives to just happen upon an opportunity like this."

"What bothers me is the fact that he was able to get into the homes so easily." Morgan was saying as he looked over the case reports for the other families. "We have four families all over the Atlanta area that have let a complete stranger into their homes, where he kills them and kidnaps one of the girls."

"Should we be looking into the cable guy, or some kind of repairman that you'd call in to your home?" Emily asked.

"Yes," Hotch said. "We also have to consider the possibility of some kind of ruse."

"You mean like "Hey my car broke down, can I use your phone," type of ruse." Morgan wondered.

"But who falls for that," Emily asked? The rest of the team, minus Reid turned their stares on her. "I just mean that everyone has a cell phone nowadays. When was the last time any of you had someone at your door asking for help?"

"People's cell phones lose their charge and there are people that don't have cell phones." Rossi said. "In fact, I didn't have a cell phone that wasn't company owned till three years ago."

They all looked at him, except for Reid, and then laughed, which dispelled a little of the gloom and doom that had hung over the cabin for the last forty minutes.

"I think we can agree on one thing, this man is intelligent and very organized. This series of murders isn't his first time at the plate." Rossi said.

"Reid… You've been very quiet." Hotch said, directing his signature glower at the young man who was looking out the window.

"What…" His large eyes found Hotch and he flinched at the hard look on the older man's face. "Oh… the missing girls lived in different school districts and different neighborhoods. The geographic profile is rough, but I'd say that he's very comfortable with the city. He's not limited to one neighborhood. The choice of victims is interesting. The hair color and eye color is very telling. Only four percent of the world's population is red headed. Two percent of that population is here in the United States. Red heads have been associated with witches, and bad tempers, or just plain craziness, since the beginning of recorded history."

"Did you know that in some Renaissance art, Eve is portrayed as a blond, or brown haired woman till she partakes of the forbidden fruit. Then she turns into a red head when she and Adam are banished from the Garden of Eden. Also, Cain is depicted as a red head so there is the obvious statement that red hair and sin go hand in hand. Also… did you know that when a -?"

"Reid, you're rambling," Hotch said. His tone was gruff, but part of him was happy that it appeared that Reid was doing his job, and not wallowing in whatever problem he and Emily seemed to be embroiled in.

"Sorry Hotch I -"

He was interrupted again by JJ who came back to the main cabin with a very grim look on her face. "We've got more trouble!" She informed them and passed out several pages of new information that had been faxed to the plane.

"It looks like there were a similar group of murders in Atlanta twelve years ago."

Hotch flipped quickly through his stack of printouts and saw the face and name of the only survivor of the first series of murders,

"Christ…" Morgan said.

Rossi grunted and didn't look at all surprised for some reason. Emily looked up and saw that Reid's face had gone a sickly, yellow color.

Hotch opened his mouth and JJ said, "Yeah… I thought that would get your attention."


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/n hello all... Here's the next chapter. Let me know what you think, as you always do.**_

_**Disclaimer: See my profile **_

Special Agent Anna Sorenson pulled on a pair of black slacks and tucked in the light blue-grey button down shirt she wore. Her hair was pulled back in the ponytail she always wore to work. She raked her fingers through it and decided that it needed a trim. Her face was devoid of make-up except for a little mascara and a light bronze lipstick. She pulled on the matching black suit jacket and grabbed her badge and phone from the bedside.

"Do ya really have ta go…?" He said from where he lay on the bed with the sheet just covering his nakedness.

He pouted up at her and she forgot for minute that sleeping with him was a serious breach of protocol. His blond hair was mussed and corkscrewed all over his head. His emerald green eyes danced up at her and his smile made her shiver.

"Yeah… I have ta go."

He frowned and got out of bed, letting the sheets fall to reveal his toned and tanned body to her greedy eyes. When she got her hands on the son of a bitch that had interrupted her evening and brought back some man terrible memories, she was going to…

"I'm goin' with ya." The man standing in front of her said.

He was pulling on a pair of faded blue jeans when her hand stilled one of his hands. He looked over at her, and saw the grim determination in her eyes that he'd fallen in love with the day he'd first met her. He'd given up everything for her and here she was trying to walk away without fighting for them.

"Stay here," She said and it wasn't a request.

"No… I can't and ya know it. Even if I could, I wouldn't, I'm not goin' ta let ya treat me like a piece of meat you can fuck any time ya got the itch."

He yanked away from her and reached for his tee shirt. He pulled it over his head and stepped around her to find his sneakers.

"Wait," She grabbed him again and he shook her off with a growl.

"You're a big shot FBI agent. Ya don't need me to follow ya around. Isn't that what you're trying to tell me. Or is it somethin' else? "

"I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"Does the name Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid mean anything ta you?"

She'd been looking at the floor because her face was red and she didn't want him to see that he'd gotten to her. Now she met his eyes as directly as she could. "There's nothing goin' on between me an Slim."

He studied her face and she didn't flinch under the heat of his gaze. "I believe ya."

"Then why did ya bring it up?"

"Because ya used to have a thing for him," He insisted.

"Yeah… okay… I admit it. I used ta have a big crush on him, but he's got a lover. He's completely over the moon for Emily Prentiss. I'm not goin' ta mess with that."

She made him look at her by tugging on both of his arms. His head came back up and he saw the truth in her eyes.

"I need ya. I just don't want ya ta get hurt. That's why I'm fighting ya on this. Not because I want ta meet up with an old crush and try ta steal him away from the woman that loves him. I don't love him. I love you. I risk everything for you and you for me, or did you forget."

He pulled her in and kissed her. His lips were hard and hot against hers, not soft and warm as they'd been just an hour ago. Her blood was firing, and her brain was clouding over and forgetting the reason she'd been called away from him in the first place.

"No…" She pulled away. "I have to go and I'm not letting' ya distract me. Ya know as well as I do that I have to deal with this, or we'll never have peace of mind."

His face softened and he ran one finger over her cheek. The fading bruise she'd received from zigging, instead of zagging in the gym, reminded him of all she'd been through to get to this place. He leaned in to kiss it and felt a lone tear fall from one of her lovely blue eyes.

"I have to go. The plane is going to be landing at any moment. I have to be with the detectives to meet it."

He nodded and stepped aside. "Come back ta me!"

"I promise…"

He watched her leave and then went back to getting dressed. His phone was on the night table and it looked innocent next to two other items that lay there. He put it in his pocket with his keys and the other items on the table. He would go do what he had to do.

--

"Everyone sit down now!" Hotch roared over the members of his team who were on their feet in the small cabin of the jet.

"Hotch don't you think we need -" Morgan began to say before Hotch killed him with a look.

He held up his hands in surrender, and went back to his seat across the table from the laptop they'd set up for Garcia to keep in touch with them.

"Sit down," Hotch repeated again and they sat.

Rossi held in his curiosity till Morgan broke again under Hotch's stare. He cut off the younger man from speaking his mind and getting in deeper with Aaron.

"Aaron… did you know about her?"

"Yes… I was informed when she came to the academy for training."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Morgan asked the question Emily wanted to voice.

She looked over at Reid and even though his face had returned to its normal pale tone, he looked like someone had sucker punched him. Irrational anger that she couldn't stop, surged into her and made her sick to her stomach. Why was he taking all of this so hard? Maybe he really was in love with Anna, and he didn't want to tell her because he was afraid of how she would take it.

"Because…" Hotch was saying and she pulled her attention back to her boss. "The file was sealed when she was sixteen. Her attacker was killed in her escape."

"Then why do the police think there is a link between these two sets of killings. If the man is dead then this must be copycat killings." Rossi said.

"We don't know that," Reid finally spoke up.

"No… we don't know that…" Hotch said.

"Hotch… the man is dead. Are you saying that he climbed out of the grave and started killing again?"

"No… and I don't appreciate your tone Morgan."

"I'm just saying that we have to be realistic."

They all looked down in surprise when the computer beeped and Penelope appeared on the screen. Her hair was in two braids hanging down past her shoulders. She was wearing a red and white peasant blouse and her glasses matched the lipstick she wore.

"Hey baby girl… What did you find?" Morgan piped up with a wink at his wife.

"Hot stuff you know better then to ask me that," She replied and Rossi rolled his eyes.

"Morgan…" Hotch said while pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand.

"Right… so what did you find?"

"The oracle of the super information highway has a bombshell for you. I broke into the rest of the sealed file and you're not going to like it."

--

Anna met up with Detectives Weir and Porter. They were standing next to the black SUV that was parked at one end of the parking lot at the airport.

"Ya know… its bad enough that we have one fed on the case, but ya had ta convince the chief ta bring in the fuckin' BAU." Porter spat out as soon as she was within earshot.

"Watch your mouth Porter or I'll teach ya ta show the lady some respect." Weir snarled at his partner.

"I don't need ya'll ta look out for me Weir. I can take care of myself and this jerk off."

"Ya talk big but, can ya back it up." Porter had stepped around his partner and was now toe to toe with Sorenson.

"I don't need any man's help ta take care of myself. Ya want a demonstration, or do ya want ta shut up and work with the profilers?"

Porter looked over at his partner who was leaning against the car and looking very serene. Weir gave him a smile that froze his blood. There wasn't going to be any help from the taller man.

"I think ya should shut the hell up and leave her alone."

At that same moment there was the sound of jet engines approaching the landing strip, and Anna shouted over the sound of the engine. "There's the jet. I suggest you stow away the attitude Porter."

He sneered at her, but didn't say anything else till the plane landed and the engines died. There would be time enough to deal with the feds later, and explain to them why the Atlanta PD didn't need, or want their assistance.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/n hello all... here's the next chapter. This may answer some of the questions you had in the last chapter and it may raise more. **_

_**Disclaimer: See my profile**_

The engines of the jet were just slowing to a stop when Rossi and Hotch deplaned after the rest of the team. At the bottom of the stairs, Rossi put a hand on Hotch's arm.

"What are you doing Aaron?"

"I'm getting off the plane. What does it look like?" He turned his stony glare on his friend.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not one of them," He gestured at the team. "I don't scare that easily."

"Is there a point to this, or are you just trying to be funny."

They moved forward again, through the dark and the humid heat of the Georgia night. "You know what I mean. You're being very hard on Reid and I want to know why."

"I'm not being too hard on him. He's distracted and I'm sure you know why."

Dave stopped, and forced Hotch to stop walking when he said. "You're afraid. You're terrified that something is going to happen to him. You're not worried about his relationship with Prentiss. You know they'll work it out. You're afraid that being back here in Georgia is going to cause him to lose focus and make some kind of fatal mistake."

Hotch hadn't moved, and from the set of his shoulders it was clear that he was struggling not to turn around and let Rossi have the benefit of his temper.

"How I deal with my team isn't up for debate with you."

"Aaron… I might not be the unit chief, but I understand the value of a team that works to its greatest potential. We have a great team. Its taken work to get them to work as smoothly as they do and that is due in a large part to your leadership. Don't mess it up by losing trust in one of them. He values that trust more than you know…"

Hotch's shoulders slumped and Dave smiled. He walked forward and slapped his "boss," on the back.

"Come on… The kids will be wondering what happened to us."

--

As the team had arrived at two am, Hotch sent everyone to their hotel to rest. He said that it was too late to do anything on the case. He told them to get some sleep and be ready to get to work at eight the next morning.

"Yeah… we wouldn't want the feds to miss their beauty sleep." Porter sneered in the direction of the group assembled next to the SUVs loaned to them.

"Shut up Porter," Weir said wearily to his partner. "We have no idea where to start looking for her. We have to wait for the evidence to be processed by the CSIs. We might as well get some rest."

Porter gave his partner a very ugly look and stalked away. They watched him get into a white non- descript sedan and squeal out of the parking lot.

"I'm sorry bout him…" Weir told them. "He's got issues with the FBI."

"Gee… you could have fooled me." Anna said, and JJ almost laughed till she saw Hotch's glower.

"Anna… what the hell is going on." Reid suddenly spoke up.

"Reid…" JJ said in surprise at her friends tone.

"It's okay JJ." Anna said looking completely unruffled. "Slim has a right ta know what happened. Ya all do, but I agree with Hotch. It's a long story. It can wait till tomorrow."

"But Anna we should -"

Anna cut Reid off with a look. His mouth closed with an audible snap. Emily, who was standing as close as she could to him without actually putting an arm around him, frowned at the exchange.

"Anna's right… JJ has rooms for us. Let's get there and get some sleep." Hotch said and they followed him to their vehicles.

--

Reid was sitting at the desk in the corner of the room JJ and booked for him and Emily. He wished that they were in separate rooms. He was still seething over her remark about his mother and being back there in Atlanta was wearing on him.

As soon as the pilot had told them they were on their final descent, his stomach had tightened like someone had reached inside his gut and squeezed it hard. He tried to remember the breathing technique his doctor had taught him after his ordeal with Tobias, but he couldn't concentrate. There were crime scenes photos laid out in front of him, and files from the other three families that had been slaughtered by this man. How could it be just one man?

He leaned back in the uncomfortable wooden chair and rubbed at his neck. The door to the bathroom opened, but he didn't turn around to see the occupant enter the room. She was very quiet and he hoped she'd go to bed and not talk.

"Spencer…"

He sighed and turned around in his chair. She was sitting on the bed in a black tank and a pair of dark red pajama bottoms.

"What do you want?"

She flinched at his tone. He saw the hurt on her face and in her dark eyes. His heart wanted to go to her and forgive her, but his head said no.

"I…" She swallowed hard and looked down at the ugly gold and purple flowers on the bedspread. "I was out of line. I'm sorry for what I said. I… I don't have an excuse. I was angry."

"You were angry," He repeated slowly. "So because you were angry, I'm supposed to just forgive and forget." His eyes were flat and almost black with anger.

"No… that's not what I'm saying. I was out of line. You know I didn't mean -"

"You didn't mean what," He pushed away from the chair and began to pace the length of the room to the door and back to the far wall. "You didn't mean what you said about my mom, or what you implied about Anna and me."

It was suddenly very hard for Emily to swallow. She refused to cry… Her father had hated tears from her and there were serious consequences to her if she cried in front of him. The years in their home with a mother that was less than sympathetic had taught her to do all her crying in the shower where no one could see or hear. The first time Reid caught her crying in the shower over a stupid argument, he'd tried to make her realize that it was okay to show emotion, that she didn't have to be strong.

She looked into those eyes and refused to show weakness, even though it physically hurt to keep back the tears that wanted to spill over and fall to her hands that were crossed in her lap. Her hands were trembling and she held them together so tightly, they turned white at the knuckles

"I am sorry. I over reacted. I love you Spencer. I don't want to lose you."

"What have I ever done to make you think that you're going to lose me?"

So here it was. She was going to have to be honest and it was going to hurt. "You have this relationship with another woman that I can't be a part of, or intrude upon. It's like you're old college buddies and I'm the new girlfriend that doesn't understand the inside joke."

"I've never treated you that way."

"Maybe not on purpose, but its how I feel," She couldn't look up now because the traitorous tears were making their way down her cheeks.

"I can't help how you feel. I'm not going to give up a friend because you're jealous and insecure."

He was still pacing, and there was something in his eyes that had been there for the rest of the team to see since they had landed in Atlanta that she hadn't noticed till then. It was too late to see it now and talk about it with him.

"I'm not jealous…" She went on the defensive.

"Yes you are… I keep telling you that you are the only one that I love. I want to be with you. I don't care if your eleven years older than me. I don't care if you're pushing forty and we might not have kids. You know that I don't want to pass on my bad genetic material anyway."

"Spencer… I never said that my age bothers me about us."

"You don't have to," He'd stopped in front of the bed and looked down at her. "Your body language and your face say it all to me."

"Do you have to profile me all the time?"

"Don't attack me… Deal with what you're feeling!"

"I am… I'm talking to you."

"No… You're not talking; you're dancing around the issue."

"Spencer, I'm trying to apologize. Why are you making this so difficult?"

He was looking at her with actual pity in his face. He picked up one of the key cards on the dresser and headed for the door.

"Spencer…"

"I'm going for a walk.

He took the elevator down to the lobby and turned left into the all night coffee shop. The bar was lit with a low light, and there was only one other person sitting there.

"Hey Slim… What are you doing down here?'

"I could ask the same of you."

"I knew I wasn't going to sleep and they make great coffee here."

He smiled and sat down next to her. "Well, that's music to my ears.

--

The tall man unlocked the door to the basement room and led his partner in. The other man walked up to the teen and stroked her hair.

"She's magnificent, even more beautiful than the others."

"Yes… she is beautiful, but she isn't the one that we want."

"We can keep her for awhile though," the second man asked.

"Of course… But you better keep up your part of the bargain."

The second man couldn't take his eyes off the young woman sleeping in front of him and he nodded his head. "I'll take care of it! Can I have her first?" He asked again.

The tall man bristled and the second man flinched when he looked up at the man. The tall man looked down at Carrie Norton and then back at his partner. This man was a necessary evil who would serve his purpose faithfully and then he would get rid of him when their goal was accomplished.

"Yeah… you can have her first, but not now!"

"But…"

"I said not now. You need to learn a bit of self control, and there is something else you have to do before you get your prize."

The second man licked his lips and then followed his friend out the door. The tall man locked the door and they headed down the hall.

"Now… go do what I told you, and then you can have your prize." He ordered his partner. They climbed the stairs and separated at the top. His partner would do what he was told and then they would both have their fun with the captive in the basement before he killed her.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Disclaimer: See my profile _**

"So tell me Slim… What are ya doing down here at this hour of the morning? Aren't ya supposed ta be getting some sleep?"

They had moved to a booth in the corner of the coffee shop. The room was all dark wood paneling and burgundy carpets. The bar they had vacated ran in a shallow horseshoe across one end of room. The stools were upholstered in burgundy to match the carpet. A long, bronze colored foot rest ran the length of the bar. The booths that surrounded the room were burgundy and gold. The table tops matched the wood paneling on the walls. The smell of coffee and luscious pastries pervaded the air and teased Anna's nose.

Anna watched Reid stir his cup of coffee. He wasn't answering her questions, and he'd sighed three times in the last ten minutes. His eyes seemed to be glued to the swizzle sticks he was using to stir his coffee, watching the liquid spin around in a hypnotic clockwise motion.

"Hey… Are you awake," She tried again?

"What…" He didn't look up at her.

"Ya haven't spoken since we got our coffee."

Hers was gone and she was sure his was getting cold. The tell-tale steam from the white cup that had been billowing over the rim was gone. The last time they'd spent time together in Las Vegas during a visit to his mother, he'd never let a good cup of coffee go to waste.

"I'm more tired then I thought I was… I should go back upstairs and get some sleep."

He'd started to get up when she put out a hand and stopped him by grabbing the sleeve of his light grey dress shirt.

"Ya came down here for a reason. Since ya didn't know I was going to be here, it can't be ta interrogate me."

He looked down at her like he was just seeing her for the first time since the team had arrived. His eyes had a far away look to them that suggested his mind was on something other then the case.

"Why aren't ya with Emily?"

He sat down hard and to her great surprise, a lone tear tracked down his cheek from one eye. He kept staring past her like he was looking at something only he could see.

"Spencer…"

"She's a little put out with me right now." He whispered.

Anna could fee her forehead crinkling up in confusion at this sudden admittance. A small part deep down inside pushed up and was glad. Guilt quickly followed, for he was supposed to be with Emily. She could see it written all over his face how much he loved her.

"I'm sure if ya talk ta her, you'll be able to work it out."

His eyes cleared and he met her eyes with something that said she was way off base this time. "I don't think so. I can't get her to tell me what's bothering her. How am I supposed to read her mind?"

"For a profiler and a genius, you're not very smart."

"Thanks Anna… That's exactly what I need right now."

"I'm serious… Look, I'm goin' ta tell ya exactly what's goin' on." She got up and came over to his side of the booth and scooted in, forcing him to move to the inside of the seat and against the window.

"Anna…"

"Relax and listen ta me," She ordered softly. "Now here's what I see… Emily is what - ten or twelve years older then you."

"But I don't care about that -"

"Shut up and listen ta me." She repeated.

His mouth snapped shut and she smiled thinly at him before continuing her explanation. "She's a lot older then you. You're attractive, the smartest person in any room, kind, sweet, gentle and strong. That's a potent combination for any woman."

He opened his mouth again and she stared at him till he closed it. "Ya work together and suffer the same kinds of stresses that most normal people can't understand, or cope with. Those are all the good things she can see about you're relationship. What's botherin' her now is the fact that her biological clock it tickin' so ta speak. She thinks ya want a family and kids. Then we come here and ya meet up with me. We have lots in common. She knows I looked after your mama when I was in Las Vegas and she's never met her. She has ta resent me for that."

Reid looked like someone had slapped him. For all of his understanding of humans and all the terrible and wonderful things they did to each other, he'd failed to see what Anna was saying.

"The last thing she wants ta see are you talkin' ta me. It's bad enough that we email, but ta be here together and ta have me mixed up in this mess… It was my fault. I should've known she wouldn't like us talkin' ta each other as we have."

"We're friends… What's wrong with that?" Reid asked.

"Ya got a lot ta learn about women."

He eyed her in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Yes ya do, deep down ya do. Now I'm gonna go and you're gonna go back up ta Emily."

"You don't have to go," but it was a feeble protest and she knew it.

"Yeah… I have ta go. It's late and I'm getting' tired."

She paid the bill for both of them and then she was gone just like that. Some of the panic he'd been living with since the plane touched down had gone away and for the first time he didn't think of doing something this time that would mess things up.

--

Emily slipped back into their bed and cried silently into her pillow. She'd seen them sitting together and talking quietly. She couldn't see their faces, but they were too close together to be having a casual conversation. What had she been doing there anyway? Did he call her to come meet him after everyone was asleep so they could be alone?

She sniffed back more tears, but it hurt her throat to hold them back. He'd probably told Anna all about what had happened in Georgia and she was comforting him. Emily knew that he was hurting but he refused to confide in her at all. All he could do was pick a fight with her so he could leave their room.

More tears escaped her eyes, but she pretended to be asleep when the door opened and he came into the room. The light from the hall made was visible through her eyelids and he made a silhouette against the far wall of the room.

"Em…"

She let her breathing get deep and even when he sat on the end of the bed. One of his long fingered hands found her leg and she almost flinched at its familiar touch.

"Are you asleep Em…"

She wanted to shout that she wasn't asleep, but she didn't want to deal with him, and Anna, and the betrayal of trust she'd witnessed.

Her eyes stayed tightly shut till he shut off the lamp and got into bed. His arms encircled her and she tried not to move and give away that she was awake.

"I'm sorry for how I reacted tonight. I should have listened to you and accepted your apology. I love you Emily. I love you more then you know."

He was whispering as though she could hear him. She felt his lips kiss the back of her head. It made the traitorous tears begin to fall again. Did he know that she was awake? Was he saying it because he was sure she couldn't hear him? That didn't make sense, but something kept her from turning over and making things right. She stayed as still as she could till his breathing changed and deepened. Then the tears came back and the question, what to do now?

--

The team met up in the conference room at eight the next morning. They weren't alone when they all entered the room one by one. There was a tall, blond haired man with dark green eyes sitting with Anna. Hotch was the first to ask the question they all wondered.

"Who's this Agent Sorenson?"

Anna looked over at her companion and he smiled back at her. "SSA Hotchner, this is Ben Michaels." She looked at her companion again. "Actually I didn't introduce him properly. This is Marshal Benjamin Michaels."

The others gaped at each other, and Emily felt vindicated at the undisguised shock and anger on Reid's face while he looked at Anna.

"As in Federal Marshall, as in the Witness Protection Program," Morgan asked into the silence?

"Yeah… settle in… I have a long story ta tell ya and then you'll understand what we're up against."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: See my profile**_

Anna sat up ramrod straight in the comfortable leather chair at the head of the large oval table in the conference room. The white board with all of the crime scene photos and the high school picture of Carrie Norton was right in front of her.

The teen was smiling out at them right next to a picture of her sister Christine. Christine's photo would make the average person sick to their stomach. The horrible things that had been done to her were there for all to see. There was no dignity in death for the brutally used and murdered child. She was only twelve years old! It wasn't right. Anna's stomach clenched and memories she'd held down in her gut for twelve years threatened to rise up and overwhelm her. The pain was as fresh as it had been all those years ago when she escaped a madman, only to be told that what he'd tortured her with, was true. Her parents and beloved sister were gone.

A hand touched her arm and she looked over to see Ben smiling at her. The rest of the team seemed to be holding their breath while she got her emotions under that iron control again. Hotch was studying her carefully, as though he were afraid she would bolt. Rossi wore undisguised curiosity on his face and an expression that ordered her to get on with it. She didn't dare look at Slim. Emily was looking at the table and JJ was sympathetic as usual.

"My real name is Karen Staley," She began suddenly and they all turned their attention to her. "My family lived in Stone Mountain when -" She broke off and swallowed hard.

"Do we have ta do this now…" Ben said.

"I ken handle it." She retorted and he fell silent.

"I was a sophomore at Rockefeller High School. He was watchin' me, the police figured for at least six months before he took me from a dance, just like Carrie. It was my first Homecoming Dance. I remember bein' so happy cause I was goin' with a guy I'd had a crush on fer months."

"I don't know how he grabbed me. The police said he killed Jimmy ta get ta me. They said that he drugged me. I remember wakin' up in some basement and he was just standin' there lookin' at me.

The hand that held onto Ben tightened over his fingers and she saw him look at her out of the corner of her eye. She was angry and dismayed to feel her entire body shook, and that she could hear the tremors in her voice.

_Hello beautiful… I've been waiting for you for a long time!_

His voice echoed in the recess of memory and it was one that she couldn't shut out. That voice, so deep and gravelly that it grated on the nerves like finger nails on a chalkboard. It burrowed into the brain like a worm in wet sand and just stayed there. It didn't matter how many doctors she saw or how many people she saved in her job. It was always going to be there.

_You and I will be together always. There is no escape_

She could feel the heat of his hands on her cheeks when he touched her. Those hands had been soft as though he hadn't spent one day working hard in his life. She could smell the peppermint that had been on his breath when he whispered in her face.

_There's nowhere to go, even if you could escape. Your family is dead my beautiful little girl. I killed them for you and for me. They were getting in the way of our happiness together. _

"Agent Sorenson…" Hotch's voice pervaded the cloud of her memories and she jumped like someone had goosed her.

"Yeah… I'm sorry. Um… I lost track of time pretty quickly. The room he kept me in didn't have no windows; an I couldn't see the sun. He said that we were goin' ta be together forever. He said that I had ta obey the rules, or there would be punishments. The rules were that I had ta eat the meals he provided, an ta not try ta escape.

Her hands were still shaking and the beginning of a migraine was starting to thump in her head. Her medication was in the cabinet at home. She'd been stupid enough to leave it at home. The idea that morning to leave it behind so that she wouldn't get fuzzy headed, seemed more and more ill conceived at every moment.

"He made sure that I had food an water, and that I could bathe regularly, but the door to the room was always locked. I remember thinkin' after a long time had gone by that he was druggin' me cause I decided not to eat my lunch. I would always get fuzzy headed and want ta sleep anytime I ate.

When he came back that afternoon, my head was actually clear. He was very angry that I hadn't eaten my lunch, an he beat me an raped me. At first, I didn't know what was happenin' ta me. I'd never had a boyfriend and I was a virgin. He tole me that it was my fault that he had ta hurt me, he said that I broke the rules."

Her head was hurting bad now and the light in the room was making her dizzy and sick. It was like the room was spinning around her and elongating at the same time. There were voices around her that she couldn't recognize, or make out the words they said. Everything got fuzzier, and then for the first time in her life, she fainted and slid out of her chair to the floor of the conference room.

--

Carrie woke to bright pain in her head. Then fear seemed to take over every other feeling as the ceiling she looked at didn't look like one she'd ever seen before. But wait, it was familiar and so were the walls around her when she tipped her head from side to side.

Tears ran down her cheeks and the dizziness made her head pound and spin. She was in this room and she didn't know how long she'd been here. Then her heart began to pound in time with the pain in her head. The man who had taken her away from her family would come back soon. He was going to tell her that she must follow the rules. He was going to tell her that she was going to stay with him forever.

More tears fell onto the white blanket that covered her legs. He told her that her family was dead. He said that there was nothing left for her to go back to. He said that he was her family now. Was it true? Was her family and Chester dead? If they were, was anyone going to come look for her?

The door opened with a soft creak and the tall man stood in the doorway with a tray. He put it down on the bed next to her and smiled encouragingly.

"I brought ya your favorite today my sweet. I know ya like grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate milk."

He smiled again, and she wiped at the tears on her face that he didn't seem to notice were falling like rain drops in a summer storm.

"D-did ya kill my f-family?" She asked in a thin voice.

"I told ya it was necessary for us ta be together. No one is going to come lookin' for ya."

"I hate ya!" She shouted.

He flinched and she picked up the tray of food and threw it across the room where it smashed into the wall and left bits of sandwich and milk smeared across the wall.

"Take me home," she yelled again through her tears! "I wanna go home!"

The tall man's face was red with rage. He took two long steps forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. His grip was strong and his fingers cut into her shoulders like a vice. He shook her hard like a dog might shake a kitten trapped in its mouth.

"Ya will obey the rules. Ya will eat ya lunch when I bring it to ya." He yelled in her face.

His breath smelled like peppermint in her face and his dark eyes were blazing in their sockets. He pushed her down on the bed and whispered in her ear.

"Bad little girls get punished when they don't follow the rules," He said and he was suddenly very calm. "I'm goin' ta show ya what happens ta bad little girls."

Carrie screamed when his hands pulled off her shirt. She kicked as far the chain would allow her legs to move, but he was too strong for her. She tried to claw at his eyes, but he held her down easily. She spit in his face and he slapped her so hard everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: See my profile**_

The tall man climbed the stairs from his basement prison. His newest "guest," was working out nicely. He was pleased that she'd been pure and untouched before he gotten better "acquainted" with her. He smiled fondly at the feelings of power and domination that welled up from that dark place in him.

His mother used to tell him that he had to shun that dark part of him. She said that it was evil to give into the desires he'd had for as long as he could remember. Then she would get drunk and hit him. She did other things that she told him would make people hate him if they knew. When she was drunk, her whole attitude would change and she would tell him to embrace his dark side. She said that other people didn't understand what it was like to be special. He never understood what she meant by that, till he took his first "guest," and killed her family. Then the confusion that had dominated his mind left, and he was free.

His room was directly over his visitor's quarters and it gave him a charge to know that his twin bed was situated right over hers in the room. The rest of the room was bare except for a large flat screen bolted to the wall. There was an entertainment center under the television and it was filled with video tapes he'd made of his adventures.

He'd been smart, the last time he'd been on the prowl to make extra copies and secret them away. The cops never had the slightest bit of evidence against him for his first year of adventures. Even when _she_ had escaped and nearly killed him, the cops couldn't touch him. They had all thought he was dead, but he didn't do anything without an escape plan.

He massaged the leg _she_ had stabbed twelve years ago. It was as good as new, thanks to the old doctor he'd met up with after making his escape from the burning house. The man had been too stupid to know what he had in his home. He'd been all too eager to help. After he was strong again, he'd killed the old man and taken his car and money. If not for a mistake and getting thrown into prison for a decade for killing a man he'd fought with in a bar, he would have gotten his hands on _her _a long time ago.

It wasn't right that she had got the best of him. She had to be punished for hurting him and taking him away from his most cherished pastime.

He turned on the television and the video player. _Her _face popped up on screen as it had been twelve years ago. She was screaming and crying, her face red enough to match her hair. She'd fought him like no one else ever had. She was the only one that was equal to him in spirit.

Her hair was the same copper his mother's had been. He considered himself lucky that he had inherited his fathers black hair and dark brown eyes. He was tall and muscular like his dad and not short and soft like his mother. Her blue eyes had haunted him all of his life till he put the light out of all the blue eyes he saw, that went with hair that was a certain shade of red.

He turned down the volume on the television and picked up a second remote, which controlled his I Pod dock. After scrolling through the menu, he pushed the play button and one of his favorite songs began to play in the background. It was a much better soundtrack to the video, even though he so adored her screams.

_**Oh, my love, my darling, I've hungered for your touch a long, lonely time, Time goes by so slowly and time can do so much. Are you still mine?**_

_**I need your love, I need your love, God speed your love to me.**_

_**Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea to the open arms of the sea, lonely rivers sigh, 'Wait for me, wait for me''I'll be coming home, wait for me!'**_

_**Are you still mine?**_

_**I need your love, I need your love, God speed your love to me.**_

The song had been his mother's favorite song. She used to play it over and over again, till he couldn't stand to hear it. He'd hated that song when he was a kid. It was the one that he'd played so loud the dishes shook in the china cabinet while he raped and murdered his mother.

"Thank you mother, for showing me the way," He said breathlessly.

The video came to an end and so did he… The pleasure was unlike anything the so called normal people felt in their boring everyday lives. Carrie had brought him close, but she was a poor substitute for his Karen…

He zipped up his pants after cleaning up and shut off the music and the television. Carrie was good for one thing. She would bring his Karen back to him and they would be together always. Of course he would have to deal with his partner, but that was okay. His partner was doing his job and after his usefulness was over, he'd die.

--

Anna opened her eyes to pain and to two concerned faces hovering over her. Ben and Slim were both looking at her like she was about to die. The thought made her smile through the pain in her head and the memories that wouldn't leave her alone, now that the damn had flooded.

"Anna… Are ya okay sweetheart." Ben was clutching one of her hands in his. It hurt, but she didn't try to pull away.

"Yeah… I forgot my medication and the migraine is bad this time.

He helped her into a sitting position and now his eyes were angry. She noticed that the others were standing in a circle around her. Hotch looked angry too, but Emily was looking at her like she had done something that made the other woman very put out. Now what could that be all about?

"I know… ya wanted ta be cleared headed." He pulled her up to her feet. "When are ya goin' ta stop tryin' ta be so brave."

Reid was nodding his head and Emily was shooting daggers his way. What had happened between them that had made the other women so angry?

"I'm not tryin' ta be brave. I need ta remember every detail I can."

"No… ya need your medication."

"Stop arguing with the man and take the pills." Reid said earning a look from Hotch and Rossi.

Ben was holding out his hand and a yellow prescription bottle lay in the palm of his hand. Anna looked at the bottle and then she looked at Hotch. The unit chief had been silent during the whole exchange, but he looked ready to explode.

"I'm sorry Hotch… Ya went out on a limb ta vouch for me ta the FBI. I owe you all a complete explanation. Just let me take this pill and I'll be right with ya."

Hotch's brow had been furrowed but now he relaxed just a bit. "Alright… but then we have to get back to work. We've don't know how long Carrie Norton has to live. We've already lost her family. I'm not going to lose this kid if we can stop it."

"Yes sir…" Her spine had straightened and her eyes looked less haunted.

She took the bottle from Ben and left the conference room. Reid followed her out of the room, ignoring Hotch and Emily who both tried to stop him. Ben stood to one side and told Rossi that Anna would be okay and not to be concerned. Morgan stood away from the group and watched Ben with a questioning gaze. His dark eyes seemed glued to the blond haired man and he frowned. Then his phone rang and he forgot about Ben.

"Hey baby girl… What have you got for me?"

--

Carrie Norton almost threw up on the floor next to her bed. Her face and her head hurt badly and moving to sit up made her dizzy and nauseous. Her shirt was on the floor next to the door and her jeans were hanging off the end of the twin bed she lay on. Her bra and panties were torn and laying on the floor near the door.

The room seemed smaller and darker than the first time she'd opened her eyes. There was blood on her thighs and dripping from her nose. It hadn't been long since the man had left, but she sat shivering on the bed. He was going to come back at any moment. He promised her that he would be back.

The nausea was passing but her head hurt so bad, it was like someone was pounding a hammer in her brain. He told her that her parents and sister were dead. He told her all about the terrible things he'd done to Christine before he'd killed her.

Tears began to fall and mix with the blood on her face and hands. Her family was dead. He was going to keep her locked up and maybe he would kill her. She shivered… it was so cold in that little room. She couldn't seem to work up the strength to pull on her clothes. She yanked the white blanket on the bed around her, and watched the blood fall onto it and turn it crimson. She was wrapped up in her own blood, but it didn't matter. The blood of her family was important. It didn't matter anymore what happened to her. She should just let him kill her so she could be with them again.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: See my profile.**_

Morgan had backed away from Ben, and the others, hoping that they wouldn't notice. "Hey baby girl," He said in a low tone.

"Why are you whispering?"

"I'm not, I'm just being circumspect."

"Why do you need to be circumspect, gorgeous?"

Morgan rubbed a hand over his almost bald head and sighed. Hotch had noticed him backing off and was giving him the look that Reid had coined, "Hotch's Great Aunt Esther look." It meant you better explain yourself, but now. Morgan met his gaze forthrightly and let out of breath when Hotch turned his attention to JJ.

"…Morgan… Are you there?" Garcia was saying in his ear, sounding a bit put out, at his behavior.

"What… Oh… so what did you find out?"

Garcia went on after a very pointed pause. "Sorry Honey, I couldn't find any links between the victim families, past or present. I'm still looking for any connection, but its slow going.

I did find out something about Anna. The man that kidnapped her was never identified. The home he was holding her in was burned to the ground, along with any evidence of his crimes. Apparently, she escaped and he set the first fire that had already been rigged by an explosion when he left the house. She stabbed him in the leg and he decided to run rather than control her. He'd already killed his partner, it happened right in front of her.

The detectives on the case found the house in the name of his accomplice who was a police officer. It was like that couple you guys got in Florida a couple of years ago, and those guys in Seattle several years ago."

Morgan ran his hand over his head again. A headache was forming behind his eyes. "So we have to assume he has another partner, and probably has another place in his partner's name."

"You win the gold star my chocolate God." She answered playfully. "Don't worry; the locals didn't have me twelve years ago. I'll find him and you'll fry his ass."

"You know just what to say to give my ego a much needed boost, mama."

"I didn't think you needed an ego boost!"

Morgan roared with laughter, causing the others in the room to glare at him. He left the conference room and headed away from anyone that could hear him.

"That's why I love you baby girl, you know how to put me in my place."

"You better believe it," She shot back.

"Look mama, I need you to do something for me off the books."

"You've peaked by curiosity and my blood pressure."

"I need you to find everything you can on Federal Marshall, Benjamin Michaels."

"You want me to hack into Wit Sec," Garcia inquired and her casual tone told Morgan she'd done this before, but he chose to ignore that fact.

"Yeah, do you have a problem with that sweetheart?"

"No problem here, I'll get back to you, hot stuff."

--

Anna stumbled into the ladies' room, shutting the door in Reid's face and cutting off his questions. Slim wouldn't understand and she didn't want him to understand.

_How could he take her burdens onto his shoulders when he has his own? _

A female detective from the precinct passed her with a nod. Her badge gleamed brightly at her belt and Anna thought back to the days in Las Vegas. She should have stayed there. She should have resisted the temptation to come back here.

The prescription bottle in her hand felt smooth and cold. The pills inside rattled as she turned it over and looked at the brightly colored warning labels. It warned of drowsiness and other stuff that made taking it unwise while she tried to work, but the pain was like an ice pick in her head. Ben was right, she needed to take one and push back the agony.

Her other hand clutched a paper cup that she snagged from the water cooler on her way out of the conference room. It was crumpled ,and she impatiently smoothed it out and filled it with water from the sink.

"Bottoms up," She said bitterly.

What she wouldn't give to be free of those damned pills once and for all. She swallowed the pill and crumpled up the cup. It was time to go face the music.

Anna gave her reflection one last look, before turning around to go back to the hallway where she knew Slim would be waiting.

"Get a hold on yourself and do your job," She muttered into the empty bathroom.

She took a deep breath the opened the door. Reid was down the hallway a bit pacing with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Hey Slim… get everyone together, I'm only goin' ta say this once." She announced as she passed him in by.

"Anna…"

The accusation and disappointment in his voice stopped her as effectively as a hand grabbing her arm.

She swung around and sized him up. Why did he sound so upset? What had she done to piss him off?

"I don't have time for this _Dr Reid!_ Can we please just get together with the rest of the team?"

His mouth opened and then snapped closed. "Okay… let's get this over with. It's more important to find Carrie Norton," Every word out of his mouth was bitten off like ice cracking on a frozen pond.

Anna left him standing there and went back to the conference room. Everyone had gathered around the table.

"Garcia has some information for us, but I want to hear from you now." Hotch said, but Anna refused to flinch under his glare.

"By the time he took me, he'd gotten careless. He had help from the local police barracks, a detective named Adam. I never knew their last names, or if the name my kidnapper called his partner was right. The kidnapper told me ta call him Zane.

Anyway… he raped me multiple times before I escaped. He'd come down ta my prison room ta kill me that night. I think he wasn't happy with me just lyin' there tied up, so he untied me. He expected me ta just give up, but I surprised him and in the struggle he got stabbed. I was able ta run away and get out of the house before it blew up behind me. I didn't see him leave. I honestly thought he was dead. I don't know how he got out."

Even now as she talked about that night, she could see the orange and red flames, feel the heat and smell the burning wood and concrete. She sat where the blast had thrown her till the police arrived hours later. The animals in the woods that surrounded her left her alone, as the flames frightened most of them into hiding. It was like she'd gone temporarily deaf anyway. The only sound had been the beating of her heart and the only thought was that her family was gone.

"After that, I went inta the witness protection program and changed my name. You see, the FBI wasn't sure if my captor had died and I had no one. I went ta a foster home and then at eighteen I left ta become a cop. The program didn't want to let me go high profile like that and they hated it when I became an FBI Agent. I knew after all these years that I had ta come out of hiding. Then he came back… I know it's the same man.

"Ben has been my protection since before ya'll met me. Normally he's more discreet, but lately he's been drivin' me nuts." She looked at Ben who was smiling at her and didn't seem affected by her complaints.

She could feel the tears beginning to run down her face and she wiped impatiently at them. The pain in her head and the memories we making her weepy, that's all it was and she was going to pull it together and show them she could do her job.

A hand touched her arm and JJ's smiling face looked into hers when she turned to the side. Her friend didn't say anything, but then JJ didn't need to, she had a quiet strength for others that seemed to put them instantly at ease.

"We got a call from Garcia; she has some information for us." Rossi said with unexpected kindness in his voice.

Morgan relayed his conversation with Garcia to the team and by the time he finished, the pills were beginning to work. She was feeling drowsy and the fog was falling over her eyes.

JJ was the first to notice her distress as the others debated a possible profile for this new set of killers based on the new information.

"Hotch…" JJ interrupted them loudly.

"What JJ…"

"Can we do this without Anna?" She said bluntly and ignored Anna's protests that she was okay.

Hotch looked Anna over very carefully and his dark eyes softened a bit. "Yes… Go get some sleep."

"But Agent Hotchner I can…"

"I said, go home, Agent Sorenson!"

His eyes went to stone again and Anna got unsteadily to her feet. Ben jumped up and took her arm.

"I'll take her home and watch ova her."

"Fine… that's your job, our job is to find Carrie," Rossi dismissed them.

Anna left the room after trying to catch Slim's eyes, but he was looking at the legal pad he was writing on and seemed to be in another world.

--

The tall man waited impatiently, his partner was due back soon and then the real fun could begin. He picked up the photograph he'd stolen from Karen's house all those years ago and caressed the face that smiled out of it. She had such a beautiful smile. He'd never seen it in life which was too bad, but soon she would smile for him and his dreams would come true.


	10. Chapter 10

**_A/n I just wanted to thank everyone that's stuck with this story and continues to feed the muse with your kind reviews. _**

**_Disclaimer: see my profile_**

Ben pulled his dark green Ford Explorer into the driveway of the little rental house Anna had moved into after coming back to Atlanta.

The house was small, wooden, and painted white with a forest green roof. It was set back from the driveway with a fairly large front lawn. He parked the SUV and got out of the car. Anna had fallen asleep during the drive home, so he carried her into the house and to the bedroom he shared with her nearly every night.

He'd made the bed that morning and after lying her on top of the dark blue comforter, he pulled off the shoes she wore and put them in the closet.

"Hm… Ben… What's goin' on…?" She slurred.

"Just get some sleep… You'll be okay. I'm going to watch over you."

"Kay," She turned over.

He took out his phone and left the room to make a phone call while she slept.

--

They had been looking at everything for hours, going over the old cases as well as the new murders. All of them had happened in exactly the same way. The oldest daughter stalked, and then kidnapped. Her family killed the same time as the abduction. It could only happen with two people.

Hotch sighed and dropped the picture he'd been looking at. They knew from Anna that the killer had a partner then, so he must have one now. Who was it?

"Morgan… Did Garcia have any more information on who the partner was for the first set of kidnappings?"

"We have a name, but Penelope is drawing a blank on him. I'm sure it's a fake name, hiding something important. If we had the identity of the killer we might be able to make an educated guess. She's going to keep digging. If anyone can find the connection, even after all these years, its Penelope."

"Let's get the locals together and go over what we know."

"After lunch Hotch, I just called in an order." JJ said.

She could bully Hotch about food as they'd all skipped breakfast and he was hungry as they all were. He rubbed at the back of his head and dropped the rest of his file on the table.

"Okay… We'll talk after lunch."

Reid sat at one end of table looking intently at the crime scene photos from the burned out house where Anna had been found. The home had been at the edge of the woods and there were tress surrounding the blackened mess of the home.

He could smell the scent of rotted leaves and his stomach turned over. The very faint smell of fish hearts burning on a stove combined with the smell of his own fear made his hands shake so hard, he had to sit on them so the others wouldn't see.

_Choose someone to die?_

The voice of Rafael spoke up in his head, and he could hear the sound of metal on metal as a gun was being cocked and ready to fire.

_I can't… I won't choose!_

He sounded so pathetic, he should have been stronger. He should have sounded tougher and in control. Hotch would have been stronger and so would Morgan, or Rossi, or any of the team but him. He was weak like Charles Henkel said.

_Choose Anna… She should have died twelve years ago. She's coming between you and Emily. You love Emily…. _

The picture was swimming in front of his eyes and his breathing was speeding up. The palms of his hands were sweating against the chair and his cords.

_Better yet, choose Emily… She doesn't trust you and you know it. She wants to control you and tie you down to a family that you don't want._

"Spencer… What's wrong?"

He looked up at Emily, and only unhappiness and concern for him was in her big dark eyes. One hand was soft on his shoulder and she gave him a small smile.

"I- I'm okay…

"You're white as a sheet." She whispered.

"I… I j-just need some coffee… I'm tired."

He jumped up from his chair and almost ran out of the conference room. Emily was frozen to her chair, unable to make the simple move to go after him. She didn't see Hotch staring at her or Rossi shaking his head, or Morgan grinning at her.

--

"Damn it…"

"Usually when you get to the rim of the cup, you stop pouring." JJ said from behind her friend.

"Really… Thanks for enlightening me," Reid said while attempting to clean the coffee off the cuff of his dark grey dress shirt.

"You're welcome…" JJ grabbed one of the dark blue cups from the table and took the coffee pot from Reid's lax hand. "You're going to spill the rest of it!"

"Sorry… I guess I wasn't paying attention."

"What's wrong Spence?" She filled her cup and reached for the creamer.

He dropped in his third teaspoon of sugar and was going for a forth when JJ put a hand on his arm to stop him. "Hey… You're going to go into a diabetic coma if you don't knock off the sugar."

She took his free hand and pulled him into an empty interrogation room, ignoring the stares of other cops and one janitor that was mopping the opposite room.

"Okay… what's the matter with you and Emily?"

She was standing there with her arms crossed over her chest and tapping her foot. For a minute she looked taller than he and he took a step back. Then everything snapped back into place and she was just looking at him with real compassion.

"She doesn't trust me and I don't know what I'm going to do about it." He blurted it out like the words had been bottled up and someone had shaken the bottle till it exploded.

"That's not true Spence… We all know that she loves you. She trusts you more than anyone else in the world."

Reid put down his coffee on the dingy steel table that sat in the middle of the room. "No… She used to trust me, but ever since I met Anna, she's become… I don't know JJ. I'm not an expert on women. I don't know what to do or say." His voice had climbed up to a squeak and he was pacing the small room.

"Spence… You don't have to be an expert on women. None of us are experts on relationships, we all muddle through… The point is that you need to talk to her. You need to make her tell you what's really bothering her."

He just looked at her like she was speaking in a foreign language. She laughed and grabbed onto his arm to stop his ceaseless pacing around the small room. "Look at you, you're in here talking to me with no problem and I've seen you talk to Anna like she was your best friend. Do the same thing with Emily. She's the one that you love, so stop listening to that big brain of yours that tells you that you can't do it, and follow your heart instead."

He was frowning, but at least his face wasn't white anymore. Whatever had been bothering him in the conference room wasn't just troubles with Emily. She knew that being back here had probably hit him hard, but he wouldn't talk about it and she wouldn't push him.

"Go on then… Go talk to Emily." She urged him, pushing him to the door.

"I can't JJ… Not know," He argued.

"Spence, you can't just ignore the problem," She countered.

"I'll talk to her, but it has to wait. I can't let this get in the way of the case. We have a little girl to find."

"I know Spence I just think that if you wait, it will only make things worse."

He turned around and smiled at her. She wondered how anyone could resist that smile, especially Emily. "I'll talk to her when this is over. I promise…" He said and then he was gone.

--

When Anna awoke several hours had passed. Her head felt better, but she was still very groggy from the medication. Maybe coffee would help and she could get back to work. Hotch was going to regret bringing her in on this if she didn't get her act together and get to work.

She ran her hands through her "bed hair," and stumbled to the bathroom. She looked at her face and almost laughed at the big red mark on the side of her face and the creases from the blanket. Her blouse was wrinkled too. She was going to have to change clothes.

What time was it? Had she been out all day? Had the team found anything? She should call Slim… No, it was better to call Hotch. Emily was furious with her and calling Slim would only make things worse. She brushed her teeth and then went to find her phone.

Ben was entering the bedroom at the same time she fished her phone out of the bag she always carried. She was trying to dial it when he pulled it out of her hands.

"Hey…"

"What are you doin'?"

"I'm checkin' in with the team," She said.

"I just talked ta Hotch. They don't have anything new ta go on." He was smiling at her and his green eyes twinkled.

"But I should talk ta him and -"

"No… I brought ya some mint tea, which ya love."

It was iced mint tea, which most people didn't like, but she loved it. She should get back to work, but she was thirsty and still groggy. Maybe this would snap her out of it. So she drank it down and Ben put an arm around her.

"It's after five pm… You've slept the day away. It's too late ta go back ta work now. I'm goin' ta make ya something ta eat."

She should get back to work, but her brain was still fuzzy and the tea had been great. Her stomach was rumbling too. Maybe food would be the best thing to get her brain to clear.

Several minutes went by and she tried to get up off the bed, but her muscles wouldn't cooperate for some reason. She was getting really dizzy, and the room seemed to elongate and then snap back at her suddenly like it was a rubber band pulled out of shape.

"Ben…" She tried to yell, but it came out as a whisper.

Someone came into the room and she looked up. It was him! She tried to scream, but her mouth wouldn't work. She was so dizzy. What was he doing here? She had to get to the phone and call for back up. How could he be here? He was somewhere else with his victim. He would never leave Carrie alone, would he?

"What're ya doin' here…" She whispered when he came closer. "I don't want ya here… Ya can't be here!"

His face was right in front of her and he looked exactly the same as he had that night he took her. She tried to scream again, but it was just a wheezy whisper. He smiled at her just like he had all those years ago.

"Don't worry baby… We're going ta make everything right."

Ben picked her up and she was so weak she couldn't fight him as he carried her out of the house. "That's right baby… Soon you will be back where ya belong."


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer: see my profile**_

Anna opened her eyes and the room swam around her. Dizziness made her feel lightheaded and sick to her stomach. Sitting up was impossible, she tried to push up, but the feeling of falling in to space was too strong, and her stomach heaved.

"Help me…" She mumbled and then coughed hard.

She turned to her side and looked out at the white wall. The floor pitched and yawned around her. Where was she? What had happened? She'd been in the house with Ben and then suddenly, _he_ was there with her. How could that be?

The pain in her head was gone, but there was something wrong with her mind. She couldn't string her thoughts together. They seemed to be caught and pulled apart like leaves falling to the ground in autumn time.

Then a figure materialized out of the wall. She tried to scream, but the sound wouldn't come out of her throat and past her lips. The figure stepped closer and became clear in her eyes.

"Slim…"

He didn't say anything or return her greeting. He just stood there looking like he was thinking way too hard about something.

"Why…"

She tried to get up off the bed again, but the room was moving around her like a ship pitching to and fro on the high seas during a storm.

Reid stood there looking at her. He didn't even try to get closer or help her up. She tried again and rolled to one side and fell off whatever she'd been lying on. It wasn't a long drop, but the jolt hurt her left arm and side.

"Slim… Why won't ya help me?"

He was still there looking at her. Then he said something, but it was just his mouth moving no sound came out.

"I can't hear ya!"

He took another step toward her and she reached out to him. He knelt down next to her and reached out one long fingered hand. It touched her, but she didn't feel the warmth of human contact. It was like a phantasm that passed right through her body.

"You're not real… You're a dream."

He was talking to her again, but she still couldn't hear what he was trying to say. She tried to follow the movement of his lips, but the dizziness was getting bad again.

He looked frustrated and his hands moved around his head as she'd seen him do when they'd worked together in Las Vegas.

"I can't understand… Why can't I hear ya?"

He looked as frustrated as she felt. She tried again to reach out to him when another wave of dizziness and weakness come over her like ocean tides.

"I'm so dizzy… I feel so sick."

Then she was falling and arms came around her. "I knew ya were real," She slurred. "I want ta go home."

The hand caressed her head and a pair of lips kissed her forehead lightly. "Take me home please…" She begged him.

The other hand was on her back and then the lips found hers. Her eyes were tightly shut, so the unexpected kiss took her by surprise. Her eyes flew open and the tall man was there. She tried to push him away and scream at the same time.

Slim was gone but the man that had taken her all those years was in the room with her. He held her in his arms and his face was right in front of hers.

"Hello my perfect angel. You left me once, but now you're here again with me. We'll never be separated again."

Anna screamed and the man grinned. She was going to be as much fun as she had been all those years ago.

--

Carrie Norton opened her eyes and saw that the plain white room was empty. The tall man had gone away for now. She sat up and shivered. The silk shirt she had worn to the dance was torn halfway done the front of her chest. She yanked the pieces together and pulled her legs up to her chest and rocked for a minute. The white blanket on the bed covered her lower half and for a minute she stared with morbid fascination at the blood stains on it. Was this what her house looked like? She remembered those crime shows she and her dad liked to watch and the way some of the crime scenes looked. But maybe that was just television and real life was different.

Tears began to track down her face. Even if someone came to get her, she would still be alone.

How long had it been since she had been locked up? There was no window and no way to figure out where or when it was. Did it even matter? She didn't have a family to go back to anymore. Maybe it was better to just let things end. Surely the man that had taken her would kill her soon. There was nothing left for her to live for. It was all gone.

Her dad would never be there again, to do the Sunday paper crossword puzzle with her. Her mom would never yell at her for something she did and then give her special cooking lessons that Carrie loved so much. Christine had been a real pain, but she loved to play softball with her sister and that was gone to.

What about taking Chester out for a walk? The tall man said he had killed Chester too, but maybe that was a lie.

More tears fell and the feeling of utter loneliness overwhelmed her. The blood on the blanket was only the beginning and she hoped that it would all be over soon so that she could be with her family again. Surely the man would kill her and she wasn't sure that she cared anymore.

The door to her room opened and a man she'd never seen before entered. He was smaller than the tall man, and he had blond hair and green eyes. He was very handsome, but there was something in his eyes that made her flinch away.

"Hello beautiful, I have been patiently waiting for my chance ta get ta knows ya."

He sort of walked like the cowboys on old movies she'd seen. He reminded her of the bad guys, not the good guys that always won the gun fights. She tried to shrink further back into the wall, and he smiled at her.

"You're almost as beautiful as she is," He had come as close as he could to the bed and stood over her.

_Who was he talking about? _

"Yeah… you could be sisters. He promised me that I could have you. It's just too bad that once I'm done with you, you'll have to be taken care of; after all we have the one we really want. You're just a tidbit, a tasty appetizer."

"Leave me alone…" She heard her own voice as if from a distance.

"I don't think so!" He reached down and grabbed her shoulders.

The door swung open behind them and the tall man came in with a woman she didn't know. The shakes that had overtaken her were making her whole body tremble. The woman that was with the tall man didn't look very well. She was staggering next to the tall man and mumbled to herself. The tall man slapped her hard and she groaned.

"Wake up and look who's here." The tall man demanded.

The other woman looked up and Carrie was sure that she was sick or something. She wouldn't be able to help at all. She must be the one that the other man was talking about God, her head hurt so much and all she could do was try to cower away from them. She should be stronger and try to do something.

The woman looked at her and flinched. "Let her go," she said in a voice that sounded like she was drunk or something.

Maybe they had drugged the other woman. Carrie was sure that the bad guys had drugged her when she was kidnapped. That's what they did in the books.

Then the blond haired man kissed her hard on the mouth and she tried to scream again, but it only came out as a groan.

"Leave her alone…" She heard the other woman try to help her.

The blond man's hands were all over her and she wanted to throw up. He was touching her and hurting her the same way the tall man had hurt her. It was going to happen again and she couldn't stop it. She tried to hit and bite the man, but he only laughed at her.

"Stop it…" The other woman was begging.

"I don't think so… You're going to watch your lover get to know our new friend. How does it feel to know that you've been fucking my partner?" He laughed.

"Leave her alone… I'll do anything you want."

"I know you will, but first, let me show you what will happen if you don't behave."

Ben pushed Carrie down and the young girl screamed. Anna tried to fight with her attacker, but the man was too strong for her. All of the things she had been taught at the Academy went out of her head in the panic that overtook her head. Her muscles were so weak, so couldn't fight to stop Ben from this terrible act. The tall man held her body and head in place, and made her watch Ben, the man she trusted and the one she thought that she loved, rape Carrie Norton.

--

Garcia entered her office with a sigh. She rubbed at her baby belly and began to lecture the child for sitting on her bladder.

"If I have to get up and go to the bathroom every ten minutes, we'll never find anything to help your daddy."

The baby kicked her in the ribs and she scowled. "You have your dad's attitude. I think I'm in trouble when you're born."

The baby didn't move and Garcia smiled. "That's right… Just remember who's in charge and we'll get along just fine." Derek would laugh if he were there to hear her talk to the baby that way. Garcia said that the baby could hear them from the womb, and it was time to lay done the law before it was too late.

She sat down awkwardly in the perfectly arranged office chair. Ever since she had complained about Kevin Lynch messing up her office, Derek had made sure her chair stayed perfectly aligned.

The computer beeped and a photograph appeared on the screen with accompanying information. She quickly scanned the screen and then began punching keys like crazy.

Her babies purred along with her in perfect harmony to what she wanted to find. They had never let her down before and now she had what she wanted to hold over Mr. Ben Michaels.

She punched a button on her phone and waited for her chocolate God to answer.

"I've got you now, and you'll be sorry you were ever born when the team finds out what you've been up to."


	12. Chapter 12

**_Disclaimer: see my profile please_**

The team was very down… Nothing that they had done was producing results for them. They knew that Carrie had limited time, but there just wasn't anything they could do to find her.

Reid was going over the old cases and new ones trying to find something that they had in common, when Detectives Weir and Porter entered the conference room.

"Well… I'm not surprised ta see the feebs…" Porter said, drawing out the word 'feebs' and smirking at them, "sittin' around doing nothin."

"Porter, are ya finished," His partner snarled?

"I'm just sayin' that while we've been out talking ta witnesses and ta the girl's friends, they've been sittin' here in these comfortable chairs. I see you're all doin' what you do best, and that's nothin'"

Porter's face was getting red and when combined with his almost orange hair, he looked like an angry tomato. He was several inches shorter than Weir and his hazel eyes were staring down Hotch, and Reid wondered who would look away first.

Finally Porter dropped his stare and Hotch said, "If you're done criticizing us… Can we get back to trying to find Carrie Norton?"

Morgan for once only sat with slumped shoulders and eyed the two men standing in front of them. Emily and Reid were watching Hotch, and JJ and Rossi were looking at each other and frowning.

Porter stood back against the far wall with his arms crossed in front of him while Weir took the only other empty chair and began to outline the results of their numerous interviews, plus the reports they'd gotten from the labs and the other cops that had canvassed the neighborhood for them.

"The one bit of good news we have is that the bullets taken from the Norton's and the other families match. The weapon is a nine millimeter. The bad news is that we don't have a gun to match it to."

Porter piped up again, "Yeah… too bad the Norton's dog can't talk. He'd be a great witness."

"I thought the dog was killed," Reid asked in surprise, forgetting his inability to get anywhere with the evidence they had.

"No… I found the dog locked in the utility room. I think the unsub thought he killed him, but he's going to be okay."

It was crazy, Hotch thought, but that piece of news seemed to cheer them all up. Maybe the dog couldn't tell him what the man looked like, but maybe there was someone that could.

"We need to talk to Anna." He said and the others nodded.

Hotch turned to Porter, "Who is your best sketch artist?"

"That'd be Harold Skinner… He's da best we got. What's this about Agent Sorenson?"

"We'll fill you in on the way." Hotch said.

--

When Carrie opened her eyes, the bad men were gone. She pushed up to sit on the bed and cried out at the pain. Her face hurt and so did her arms and her stomach, but the worst was the pain were the bruises on her thighs. It hurt so badly she wanted to throw up. The nausea passed after she swallowed hard and closed her eyes against the glare of the light that had been left on in the room. There was more blood on the blanket that used to be white.

Then something caught her attention and pulled the pain away like leaves in the wind. There was a soft voice to her left and she turned her head to see a red haired woman sitting on the concrete floor with her back to the wall. She was rocking back and forth and seemed to be singing under her breath.

Yeah… it was the woman that the tall man and his friend had brought in. They had made the other woman watch the blond man hurt her. The red haired woman had screamed and cried, but Carrie thought that something else was wrong with her.

Carrie's shirt was gone and so were her jeans and underwear, she pulled the soiled blanket around her body despite the fact that it smelled like the tall man. She watched the red haired woman for awhile, trying to think of something to say, but she didn't seem able to string her thoughts together.

The melody that the red haired woman was singing was familiar to Carrie, but she couldn't think where she heard it.

"Hey lady… Are you okay?" It even hurt to talk.

The woman ignored her and continued to hum under her breath. It was making Carrie nervous to hear the woman just singing like there was nothing wrong.

Carrie slid off the bed and tried to stand up, but her legs felt like rubber. She slid down to the floor and crawled over to where the lady sat rocking. The blanket kept getting caught between the floor and her knees, but it was better than trying to stand up again.

"Lady…" She reached out a shaking hand and the red haired woman jerked back.

Carrie jerked away too, and almost fell over when the lady looked up at her. She could see the confusion and then something like recognition in the woman's eyes. She even had blue eyes like Carrie.

"Casey…" The woman said to her. "Is that you Casey…?" She reached forward and hugged Carrie so hard the young girl cried out in pain.

"Casey… the man… He told me you were dead."

The woman sound really young, like she was Carrie's age. Carrie shivered with fright, was the woman crazy and this was another torture for her. She tried to pull out of the woman's grasp but the lady was too strong for her.

"I'm so sorry Casey… I thought you were dead and you're not. I love ya so much kiddo."

"I'm not Casey…"

The woman's eyes suddenly changed and terror filled them. She seemed to be looking past Carrie and the teen tried to turn around. Maybe the scary men had come back to hurt them both.

"Why are you here?" The woman suddenly asked. "If you're here, then he'll hurt you… I won't let him hurt you."

The woman hugged her harder, and despite the fact that the lady seemed to be crazy or something, Carrie felt comforted by her touch and afraid too. The lady knew the tall man. Had he hurt her family too?

The red haired lady held onto Carrie like she was a life preserver and then she began to sing again in a tone that was soft like a lullaby and Carrie finally recognized the song.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine; you make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know dear how much I love you; please don't take my sunshine away."

Carrie relaxed and began to sob into the woman's shoulder. She wanted her mother back so badly it hurt way down in her chest. If she had to die, then at least she could hear the song her mother used to sing to her one last time.

--

Morgan's phone rang just before they scattered. The two detectives had left one to go talk to Anna and the other was talking about an early supper.

"Morgan…" He said.

"So official… That tone is such a turn on baby!"

Morgan smiled and thought how lucky he was to have Garcia in his life. She was almost always cheerful, even when things were terrible as they were now.

"What have you got for me baby girl?"

"I found some interesting things about Ben Michaels. First of all his name isn't Benjamin Michaels, it's Joshua Lark. He changed his name after being released from prison six years ago. He nearly wiped his existence clean. It was all done by someone in the Witness Protection Program. They gave him a new name and a badge. I don't know who did it yet, but give me time and I'll track it down."

"I knew there was something off about that guy." Morgan growled. "So what is he doing protecting Anna Sorenson?"

"I don't know that yet. I'm still trying to reconstruct files and get through some sealed records under her name."

"Do you have an address for him?"

"No… the only thing I can find is Anna's address. She's only been in town for a week, so he might not have another address. By the way sugar, isn't it against the rules for a Federal Marshal to sleep with someone they're protecting?"

"I don't think this guy cares about the rules."

"Do you think he's involved in these killings?" Garcia asked him, her jovial tone had turned serious.

"I don't know… After what we saw with that girl that was killed and her friend was in the program, anything is possible. I don't trust those guys."

"I'll keep looking for you." Garcia promised.

"You're the best sugar."

"You better believe it," She shot back before hanging up on him.

Morgan went back to the conference room and informed the group what he had found. All of them had varying reactions to the news. It was a stunning blow to find out that someone in the Witness Protection program was covering for a criminal.

"You think he'd involved in this don't you." Reid had spoken up. He looked very pale.

"I don't know. I know there's something not right with him." Morgan said with conviction.

"Morgan's right," Rossi said. "He's involved in something; otherwise why go to all this trouble to hide his identity. Whether it has to do with these killing, I don't know. I don't have enough information."

"Well… I'm going to call Weir and have him talk to Michaels when they get to Anna's place. If he has to he can keep him there till we talk to him."

--

Reid's phone rang just before he got into the SUV with Emily and JJ. Hotch was driving while Rossi and Morgan were in another vehicle that would follow them to Anna's place. Dinner was going to have to wait.

He sat down and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was an unfamiliar number so he answered. "Dr. Reid."

"You sound so official Dr. Reid."

"Who is this?" The voice was electronically altered.

"I think you know who this is."

"What do you want?" His hands were beginning to shake and oddly his left foot began to ache where Tobias had broken it.

"I'm just curious about you Dr. Reid. You see, I have a friend of yours right here with me. She was mine once before and she will be mine again."

"Who is this," Reid was squeaking and didn't notice that Hotch hadn't started the SUV and was looking at him curiously.

"I told you… She is mine Dr. Reid… Stay away from Karen or I'll kill that dark haired beauty you're sleeping with. I'll bet she wouldn't be happy to know your thinking about another woman."

"I don't…" but the phone had gone dead.

"Reid…" Hotch was looking at him in the rearview mirror. "What's wrong?"

Reid was looking at Emily with the strangest look on his face and suddenly all of her anger toward him melted with the look that was in his eyes.

"That," He swallowed hard. "I think that was the un-sub."

Hotch's phone rang before he could respond to Reid. "Hotch," He barked into the phone.

Emily took Reid's hand and he squeezed it tight. They listened to Hotch talk to whoever had called him and heard his voice turn furious.

"How did that happen? Fine… We'll meet you there."

He slammed his phone shut. "That was Weir. They're at Anna's place and she's disappeared."


	13. Chapter 13

_**Disclaimer: see my profile.**_

_**A/n don't forget to review please.**_

The ride to Agent Sorenson's rental home had seemed interminable, Reid thought as he watched the city streets fly by outside of his window… The sun was going down and the light was at that point where it was blinding in the back window of the SUV. It made the traffic lights difficult to see. Statistics about accidents caused by the sun getting into motorists eyes began to filter in through the madness that was the voice of Charles Henkel. That voice had been there just below all of the other stuff that he had been blocking out for the sake of Anna and Carrie. How long would his training hold? How long till post traumatic stress began to take its toll. Oh who was he kidding…? It was already taking its toll. He'd contributed nothing to case so far.

He took another look out the window and saw the normalcy of it all that he couldn't have. The blocks of the city were lined with shops and interspersed with apartment homes. It all looked so normal and a part of him wished that he could leave his life behind and have "a normal life."

_Believe me when I tell you that I've never known a normal day in my entire life._

Why was he thinking about that now? He hadn't though of that morning in LA in years. Now the night was closing in on the SUV and he was on his way to finding out why someone else he trusted turned out to have a part of her life she kept secret. Why did people keep secrets from him? Why didn't they trust him?

The hand that held his squeezed it and he turned to look at Emily. Her dark eyes looked into his face and the peace that she had once provided him with just a look didn't come. Instead there was an overwhelming sense of loss that made his heart hurt.

Looking at her brought home something to him that he'd been trying to deny for a long time, something that he didn't want to admit to himself. He saw that she was still smiling at him. She had a death grip on his hand and he wanted to pull away even though her eyes were free of the jealousy and mistrust that had filled them for days.

"There it is, at the left." Rossi said, startling both of them back to the job at hand.

They parked, and got out into the night, and the curious group of neighbors that had come out of their homes. JJ veered away from them to a news van that sat parked haphazardly at the curb.

Reid heard her mumbling under her breath about reporters sleeping with police scanners and he smiled. He pitied the man or woman that got on her bad side about this case.

The locals had cleared the house and as they approached the door, Reid noticed that the driveway was empty. When they got into the house, he could tell from Detective Weir's expression that there was no good news.

"The CSIs are going over everything with a fine tooth comb. There's no sign of forced entry. Porter has been calling her cell, and Marshal Michael's cell phone, on an alternating basis since we got here. There's no way Agent Sorenson would just take off in the middle of an investigation."

"How do ya know that, Weir? I mean, we've only known her for a week."

Weir rounded on his partner and snapped, "If ya got something ta say then say it."

Porter stepped right up to his partner un-intimidated by the difference in their sizes. "Alright… Ya want ta hear what I got ta say. Here it is… We get a call from Washington sayin' that we got a new agent comin' in ta work the case. They say she's some kind of expert. She didn't give us any details till today. We find out we got a victim workin' the crimes and no one finds that at all strange. If that ain't enough she has a meltdown and then 'disappears,' into thin air."

The smaller man made quotes with his fingers and Weir bristled, but before he could reply Morgan said, "What are you trying to say Porter… that Anna Sorenson is part of all of this?"

"It wouldn't be the first time a victim identified with a kidnapper. Ya ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome?"

"That's hardly likely as it's been twelve years since her abduction." If An- I mean Agent Sorenson were going to show signs of Stockholm Syndrome it would have been when she was taken twelve years ago,"

Reid said, not wanting to admit that the stress of the case could have been doing a lot of things to Anna's mental state. The rest of the group was looking at him and he flushed.

"Well… excuse me Professor." Porter said angrily. "But I hardly think you're in a position ta judge what's going on in her head. Unless there's more ta your relationships than we've seen."

Reid went deeper crimson and Morgan stepped between them. "I'd back off if I were you Porter."

"Do I look like I'm scared of the FBI's watchdog?" Porter responded in a mocking tone. "I see the way she looks at the professor over there."

"Enough…" Hotch said in a deadly calm voice.

His glare was the only thing that made Porter step back from a bristling Morgan. "Fine… Let's get back to work." Porter said and left the room to go badger the techs in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry Hotch." Reid said quietly.

"I'm not angry with you Reid. You're right about Anna. She's not helping the un-sub."

"Why didn't she see what Michaels was up to?" Reid asked his boss.

"I don't know, yet." Hotch said.

Reid glanced over at Morgan who was looking around the room with practiced eyes. "Morgan knew there was something off about him. Why didn't she see it?"

"Caring about someone can blind you to their faults." Hotch answered.

"That's a pretty big fault, don't you think?" Rossi said.

"Yeah… but I get it," Emily said.

She was looking at a photograph that hung on the wall behind a worn chocolate brown corduroy couch. It was a family portrait. Reid could see the girl standing behind the man and woman who were sitting down. There was another red headed girl standing behind them and next to the older teenage girl. It was easy to see which girl was Anna, and which girl was her murdered sister.

"Look at how this picture is displayed. She is going to see it every time she comes in the door." Emily explained.

"Look around you… Half of what she owns is packed up in these boxes." Morgan toed the box in front of him. "She hasn't made time to unpack from her move, but this picture is unpacked and displayed."

"You know as well as I do that people in the witness protection program leave everything behind from their previous life. It's a matter of life or death and yet she has this out for all to see. Emily said.

"You're saying that she came back on purpose. That she's been planning this for years." Rossi said.

Morgan was in front of the portrait, studying it very carefully. "She knew that Michael's was up to something."

"No… I don't think she knew exactly what he's up to, but she suspected maybe only subconsciously." Emily said as she looked over at Reid who was nodding his head slowly and looking at the picture on the wall.

"She's after revenge." Hotch said.

"And our un-sub is after her. Michaels is his partner." Reid said, and felt like he was going to vomit at the thought.

"Yeah…" Morgan said. "You got it in one kid."

--

When Anna opened her eyes, the white ceiling above her seemed to press down on her forehead. Strangely enough, her headache was almost gone, but the pressure remained behind her eyes.

"Lady… Are ya okay?" A very frightened and young voice moved through the last of the fog in her brain.

Anna looked to her right and saw Carrie Norton looking at her with large, and terrified blue eyes. How had she gotten here? The confusion that had dominated her thinking was retreating, but something wasn't right. What was it? Where was the team?

_Okay… don't frighten the kid. _

She smiled at the young girl clutching a blood stained blanket. Carrie's face was bruised black and blue. One of her eyes was nearly swollen shut and there was dried blood on her split lip. She'd taken quite a beating.

_Shut up bitch… No one can hear you. Your family is dead. They'll never look for you again. You're mine little princess_.

The tall man, as she'd always called him, spoke low in her ear and she remembered what had happened. It was Ben… He'd brought her here to this place. The tall man was there, they were partners in their sick fantasies and crimes. Ben had raped this young girl… Yeah… she could hear the girl's screams and cries. There had been nothing she could do. Why not… why didn't she help this girl?

Something of what she felt must have shown on her face because the girl suddenly flinched away from her as if slapped. Anna took a deep breath and attempted to speak as slowly as she could.

"Hello…" She said speaking to the young girl as one might speak to a newborn colt that would bolt at the slightest provocation. "I'm Agent Sorenson, but ya can call me Anna."

"H-hello…" The girl's hands were shaking badly and Anna didn't blame her for her fright and trauma.

The girl's body looked bare beneath the blanket. Anna looked around and saw the rags the girl had been wearing crumpled in a corner near the bed.

"I'm an FBI agent. I'm sorry that I don't have my badge ta show ya." She tried to put a bit of lightness in her tone.

_Or my gun for that matter_

That thought was getting her nowhere and she wouldn't say it out loud. Anna tried to smile in a way that would reassure the girl and not scare her.

Carrie watched her closely and there was something in the girl's eyes that sent a chill through Anna's heart.

"What's ya name?" She asked the girl, maintaining an even tone but she couldn't stop her own voice from trembling.

_Get a hold of yourself, right now!_

"I'm Carrie…"

"Carrie's a beautiful name."

"My m-mom s-said I was n-named after h-her grandmother."

Carrie burst into tears and Anna waited for the storm to pass while watching the teen. Her heart broke for this broken and bleeding young woman. She didn't try to move to the girl's side. Something told her to keep her distance for the time being.

"I'm sure your great grand mother and your mother would be so proud of ya, you've been very strong." Anna continued while carefully stretching out her cramped legs and trying not to cry out at the pain in her arms.

"M-my M-mama's dead." Carrie said her eyes huge and full of unshed tears. "H-he t-told m-me s-so," She whispered.

Anna's throat constricted and she swallowed hard against the tears that threatened to fall. "I'm so sorry."

The inadequacy of the words tore at the core of her heart. It was so unfair that this girl had to be here in this place, this terrible place at the mercy of the tall man.

"It's m-my f-fault," the girl was saying. "I w-was b-bad… I t-told m-my f-friend t-that s-she t-treated me like a b-baby. It's m-my f-fault."

Tears spilled over Anna's lashes and she swiped at them with both her hands. Carrie was silently weeping and it tore at Anna's heart again. This was her fault. She should have killed the tall man when she had the chance. She should have made sure, even if it had killed her. She had to find away to make it right.

"Honey… This isn't your fault. Ya didn't do anythin' wrong. I'm sure your mother would tell ya so if she were here."

Carrie looked as though she didn't believe Anna, so the other woman said. "When I was your age, the same thin' happened ta me that's happenin' ta you. I lost everyone I loved."

"Really…"

"Yes… My whole family was killed, including' my little sister Casey."

Carrie's eyes went wide. "That's the name ya called me when they brought ya here."

Anna was surprised. Had she confused this girl with her beloved little sister? She looked up and saw fear in the girl's eyes that had nothing to do with the tall man.

"I'm sorry if I scared ya. May I sit next ta you and talk?"

Carrie appeared to weigh this request for a long time before nodding her head. She scooted to one end of the cot and clutched tighter at the blanket around her body.

Anna stood slowly swaying a bit when she gained her feet. She could see that Carrie was still watching her very carefully so she smiled despite the nausea that slammed her stomach. She took a few careful steps to the cot and sat down heavily on the bed.

"Are ya sick Agent - I mean Anna," She said shyly. "It's okay if ya are. I don't feel so good either."

"I'll be okay. Don't ya worry about it?" Anna assured the girl.

The teen nodded and Anna said. "Now… We have ta find a way out of here. I think that Ben - I mean one of the men that kidnapped us - gave me somethin' in a drink."

"Ya mean like a date rape drug." The girl asked and Anna smiled.

"How do ya know about that?"

"They told us about it in health class. The teachers said never ta take a drink from someone else even if it wasn't alcohol."

"That's right… but I don't think that's what I was given. It was somethin' that mixed badly with my migraine headache medicine."

"Oh…"

"Come on… we need ta get your clothes on. Then ya can help me find away out of here, okay."


	14. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer: See my profile**_

Anna watched as Carrie gathered up her torn clothes and began to cover her bruised and bloodied body. The young girl had surprised her with her resiliency through all of this. Anna remembered when she had been alone in her own hell with the tall man, and how close she had come to giving up on everything.

"Thank you…" Carrie said suddenly.

The teen winced as she pulled on the silk shirt that she'd obviously been wearing when taken. It was in tatters and badly stained, but the girl treated it like it was the most precious thing she owned.

"For what," Anna asked a little surprised.

The girl had pulled on her panties and gingerly adds her jeans to the outfit. She winced in pain and sat down breathing hard, to put on the socks she'd been wearing.

"Ya tried ta make those men stop hurtin' me. Ya made me not be so scared." The girl said shyly, not looking at the woman that sat next to her.

Anna bit back the fresh sobs that threatened at the teen's un-adorned gratitude. Guilt at not stopping the tall man when she had a chance, made acid bubble up in her stomach and burn at her throat.

"You're welcome sweetie."

She sat back on the cot and after the girl had pulled on her socks, she took the teen's hand in hers. The girl didn't flinch away and Anna supposed that was a good sign.

"I didn't have anyone when I was your age and recoverin' from my kidnappin'. I'd really like it if we could stay in touch after we get out of here.

_We're going to get out of here. I promise!_

"Will we get outta here?" The teen asked doubt clouding her voice.

Anna squeezed the girls hand and looked her right in the eye. "I'm gonna make sure that we do. But, I'm gonna need you're help. Do ya trust me?"

The teen nodded and Anna said. "The man that brought me here gave me somethin' that I think must have reacted badly with my migraine headache medicine. I think that it made me hallucinate and it made me sort of sick and weak. Do ya know what it means to hallucinate?"

Carrie nodded again. "It means to see things that aren't there or get confused. Is that why ya thought I was Casey?"

"Yes… that's right. It also made me very tired and weak. I need ya ta look all over and see if there is anything we can use ta get out of here. I know that you're tired and you're hurting, but we have ta find away to get out of here. Can ya do it?"

Carries eyes went wide. "Oh, ya mean like something ta use as a weapon."

"Yes… exactly like a weapon."

--

Hours had passed since the team had arrived at the house on Magnolia Boulevard. It was almost midnight, and Reid was in Anna's bedroom looking around at the small room Anna had slept in with Michaels. He shuddered and blushed at the same thought at the same time. He shouldn't be in here thinking such things about Anna. She was just a friend.

He looked out the north window to the black night and wondered what he was missing about all of this. The room was covered in print dust from the CSIs. They had long since finished their work and were back at their lab processing evidence for the case.

He took another look around the room and besides the things the lab people had disturbed, everything was in its proper place. The closet was clean and all the clothes were ordered by style and color. The boxes that weren't unpacked, were stacked neatly in a corner and labeled with their contents.

He left the room and went to the bathroom and then the kitchen. The story was the same in every room in the house. He completed his random "tour" of the house in Anna's bedroom. Something was beginning to nibble at the back of mind, but he couldn't pull it out into the light.

He paced up and down the room for several minutes muttering under his breath. Then it hit him… There was no sign of struggle in the house.

"So what… there wouldn't be if Anna trusted Michaels. He could have told her that they were going out for dinner or to follow a lead or a hundred other things." He said to the walls. "So… did she go willingly or did he over power her, or maybe she was drugged."

No… she couldn't have been overpowered unless he took her by surprise. A memory from Anna's time at the academy came back as though it had taken place that same day.

_It was a typical day at the bureau. Morgan had gone down to the gym to teach a hand to hand glass for the latest group of recruits to the FBI. Reid had finished his paperwork and all of the consults that JJ had left on his desk that day. He'd gone up to her office to see if there was anything to work on and she had shooed him away, telling him to go home and enjoy the rare afternoon off. Emily was still working on the files she'd been given and told him to go and she'd meet him there later. _

_Instead of leaving, he went down to the gym to watch the class. He always got a kick out of Morgan and his cadets. When he got to the gym, the class was in full swing. He pushed open the door and stood next to the bleachers that surrounded the mat. _

_Morgan had them split up into pairs to work together and Anna was in the center of the mat with a man twice her size. He was even bigger then Morgan. _

_He heard one of the recruits say. "Hey Sorenson… Bite off more then you can chew with Dalton there."_

"_You wish," She shot back as she circled in the opposite direction of her opponent._

"_Alright… that's enough… Everyone settle down and pay attention to your own partners." Morgan instructed them._

_Reid watched Anna's partner attack and then get thrown to the mat. The bigger man seemed to take it as a personal insult to his ego. He attacked her again and was quickly subdued by the smaller woman. After the third attack and after the third dumping on his ass, Dalton gave up. _

_Reid had had a huge grin on his face by the time the man had been thrown for the third time. Watching his friend get the best of that man was the best part of his day so far. Morgan seems to be very pleased as well. He used her as an example for the rest of the students before moving on to the next task. _

Reid was startled out of his memory by a voice from behind him. "Hey Spencer… Wake up!" Emily said. He looked up and she was there with questions in her eyes.

"There's no way he took Anna out of here against her will. She would have taken him out if he tried. I've seen her do it."

He wheeled around and hurried out of the bedroom to the living room where the rest of the team was gathered. Emily followed after him, trying not to smile at the excitement in his face. Still… it was so good to see him excited about the case.

"Spencer wait," She called out after him.

Reid ignored her and headed for Hotch. Rossi looked up in time to dodge out of the way as Reid dashed up to the group.

"Reid…" Hotch began.

"He drugged her…" Reid said excitedly.

"You mean Anna," Morgan said.

"Yes… You taught her hand to hand at Quantico. She was one of your best students. You said so yourself." Reid reminded his friend. "It's the only way he could've taken her out of here and insured that she wouldn't fight him."

"Look around, there's no sign of a struggle here. We haven't had any work that a man fitting Michaels's description has been admitted to the hospital."

"Yeah…" Morgan interjected with a broad smile. "She was one of the best students I ever had in my classes. He'd be in the hospital or morgue if she was fit, and I'm sure he was familiar with her skills."

"Okay… we have a theory as to how, now we need the where." Emily added.

"We need more then that, if we can find out which drug was used to subdue her, then we can determine where he got his hands on it." Rossi said.

"Reid… What types of drugs interact badly with migraine meds?" Hotch inquired of their young genius.

"Um… antidepressants like Paxil, Prozac, or Celexa, which could cause restlessness, loss of coordination, hallucinations, and overactive reflexes, mental changes such as confusion, muscle spasms, tremors, nausea and diarrhea if mixed with her migraine medication.

"If he gave her a fairly large dose of one of those medicines, it wouldn't cause unconsciousness, but she could end up hallucinating and confused with little muscle coordination. She would have been easy to control. I'm going to call Garcia and have her check pharmacies for anything under Michaels's name."

He was just about to open his phone when Porter came out of the kitchen and addressed them. "The lab just called, they found traces of something called "Fluoxetine Hcl," in a glass taken from Agent Sorenson's bedroom.

"I knew it. It's Prozac," Reid squeaked and opened his phone to dial Garcia.

"What's with the Professor?" Porter asked.

"Detective… I'd like to have a word with you please." Hotch said, motioning to the empty kitchen.

Porter followed him and stood stiffly staring at the senior agent. "What do ya want? I've go work ta do."

"I expect my agents to be treated with respect by the police. I realize that you don't want the FBI here, but while we're working this case, you will be respectful."

"I don't know what you're talkin' about," Porter said, but Hotch could see that he did know that Hotch was saying.

"Dr. Reid is a valued member of my team. Show him proper respect or I'll have a nice long chat with your watch commander. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," Porter said sulkily before pushing past Hotch and leaving the agent shaking his head in his wake.

--

She struggled out of her chair and stretched. It felt so good to be standing up for a minute. She'd been sitting for too long, trying to get something out of her "babies," to help the team.

She rubbed at her stomach and said. "Don't worry little one, Daddy is going to catch the bad guy and then come home to us."

The thought crossed her mind as it always did to wonder what would happen to them if Derek got hurt. Lord knew he had been in trouble before with the way he kicked in doors and asked questions later.

Her computer beeped and began to spill information on one Jared Saur. His mug shot showed a mop of dark brown hair and cold empty eyes that were nearly black in color. He was clean shaven in the picture and his face was completely without emotion.

He'd been Ben Michael's cell mate in prison for two years. He had been sent up for second degree murder of a country doctor outside of Atlanta in nineteen ninety six. The time frame was right from what the team had told her. He'd somehow managed to get paroled for good behavior after only ten years of a twenty year sentence.

"See baby… this is why your dad and I have job security," She told her baby sarcastically. Derek and the team were going to love this, she thought.

The guy had dropped off the grid after his release. His parole officer hadn't heard from him in months and there was nothing to be found on him before he was sent up.

"Son of a bitch…" She said. "Oh sorry baby, just pretend that mama didn't say that." She apologized.

Derek would laugh at her but the books all said that babies could hear in there and her child wasn't going to come out of the womb knowing curse words if she could help it.

"What else have you been into Mr. Saur? Are you the one we're looking for?"

She was reaching over to dial the phone when it rang under her hands. "Oracle of Quantico… What knowledge do you seek?"

"Hi Garcia…" Reid's voice came out of the phone.

"Hey sweet boy… I was just going to call you. I have some news I think you might like."


	15. Chapter 15

_**Disclaimer: see my profile**_

**_A/n hey all, here's the next chapter. Thanks to you all for sticking with this story and your kind feedback._**

Anna stood up and took a hesitant step forward. When her head didn't explode and she didn't stumble and fall because of dizziness, she decided that she just might be okay. Her legs felt more like legs and less like fresh marsh mellows. At least the pain in her head was gone and she'd stopped thinking that Slim was standing right in front of her or that her sister was back from the dead. Her throat and eyes stung but she manages to blink back the tears that threatened at the thought of long dead her family.

--

Carrie had left the bed and was frantically searching the small room for any kind of weapon. The room was empty but for the cot and a small wooden table at one corner. It was painted a horrible lime green color and was chipped and dirty. It looked like something you might put in a child's room.

Carrie went to the door at one end of the room. It opened onto a very small bathroom. The concrete floor and the sink were filthy. She didn't want to think about what was actually in the sink. Some of what was in the sink looked like dried blood to her. The toilet didn't have a lid and the porcelain was stained and pitted. It ran constantly in the background as the teen opened the medicine cabinet over the sink. Except for a streaked and dirty mirror, there wasn't anything in it that could be used as a weapon.

"I can't find anythin,'" The young girl said frantically as she re-entered the small room.

"Well… It was a long shot, but don't worry…" Anna tried to soothe the girl.

"What are we going ta do?" Anna had gone back to her perch on the cot. She motioned the young women to her side.

"We don't have weapons, so we'll have ta use our minds."

Carrie felt pretty unsure of the wisdom of this line of thought. She drew her legs up to her chest and hugged them tight.

"I promise I won't let them hurt ya again." Anna said. "I want to tell ya about some friends of mine. They're FBI agents like me. I know that tellin' a story don't make much sense, but I think you'll see what I mean when I finish.

My friends are part of a very special unit in the FBI called the 'Behavioral Analysis Unit.' They're called profilers and the help the police catch criminals."

"Ya mean like that show on TV," Carrie asked feeling very excited at the prospect that her new friend knew actual profilers. It was just too cool!

"Well not exactly… Profilin' is much more difficult in real life. Ya can't just solve a case in forty-six minutes. If that were true, the FBI wouldn't need the BAU. It's not nearly as glamorous as it's portrayed on television. My friends had ta work hard ta become profilers. They all had extra education and had ta spend time in the FBI kind of like rookies in the police force."

"So… it's like becomin' a detective and gettin' a gold shield."

"Sort of, but instead of collectin' evidence like blood or hair or other stuff like that, they look at feelins' and behavior."

"Oh…"

Anna told her all about the team and ended with the story of how Slim had become a member of the BAU because of Gideon.

"He was only twenty when he met Gideon. He has three PhD's and is a genius. He started at the BAU when he was twenty-one. He sort of bypassed all the other requirements because of his talents."

"Wow…"

"Yeah… Slim is a very special young man." Anna said softly.

"Slim…"

Carrie wanted to laugh when Anna's face went read. "Um… yeah, it's kind of a nick name I gave him when we met on a case. He's really skinny."

_I think she likes him. I bet he's really cute._

Carrie tried not to smirk, but her mouth seemed to smile on its own. Fortunately, her friend wasn't looking at her; she was staring at the white wall.

"Do ya like him?" She decided to ask.

"Of course, he's my friend." Her face was getting redder.

"Oh…"

"It's not like that. He has a girlfriend that he loves a lot."

"Okay," Carrie said in placating tone.

"Enough about me," Anna got up from the cot again. "I want ta ask ya a question." Her tone had gone back to business. "I want ta ask ya ta think about the men that hurt ya. If ya try I bet that ya could tell me something ya observed about them that could help us."

_Don't make me think about that… I want ta keep talking about Anna's friends._

"I - I d-don't know," she whispered.

Anna reached over and put an arm around the teen. It was so nice to have contact with someone that didn't want to hurt her. It was warm and loving, and she didn't want to move or think about anything bad. Hot tears felt slick on her skin, but she couldn't stop them from falling down her front.

"It's alright…" The soothing voice said in her ear. "I'm sorry if I frightened ya."

Anna was so strong and Carrie wanted to be like her. "It's fine… I was thinkin' about the man with blond hair. When he came in here, it reminded me of a movie I watched with my Daddy that scared me. There was a gunfight and a man killed the sheriff. The blond haired man walked like the man in the movie. I don't like cowboy movies."

She didn't want to cry anymore, but tears wouldn't stop dropping out of her eyes. Her eyes felt like they were drying out and her face hurt so much. She scrubbed angrily at her eyes "I don't want ta cry anymore. I hate both of them. I want ta kill them."

"I know… I understand how ya feel. You're angry, so let's take that and use it ta get out of here!"

She felt her head nodding in ascent to what her new friend was saying and it felt good to be doing something. She wiped her nose on the edge of the blanket and blinked back more tears.

"Are ya gonna trick them like the guys do on television?"

Ann smiled, "I hope so… I want ya ta remember that no matter what happens or what I might say, it's all for show."

"Yeah, it's like a lie but not really," She said.

"Yes, sometimes you have to tell little lies to survive. That's what I'm gonna do."

--

Garcia snatched up the phone before it completed its first ring "Hello," She said abandoning her usual flippant greeting.

"_Garcia…" _a familiar voice said sounding very confused.

"Yes Reid, who else would I be," she responded impatiently.

"_Are you okay?"_

"Of course, I'm okay. I was just going to call you."

"_Oh, well - a yeah, so I have something for you to checkout for me."_

"What a coincidence handsome, I have some information for you too."

"_Can you find out if Ben Michaels filled a prescription for Prozac anywhere near Atlanta since the new series of murders began?"_

"No problem baby cakes."

"_So what did you find out?" _Reid prompted his friend.

"I have the name of one of Ben Michael's cell mates when he was a guest of the State of Georgia. I've also got an address for you, I'm sending it to you on your handheld. The name of the guy is Jared Saur. He's been in jail for a whole slew of stuff. There's no part of the penal code he hasn't violated except for first degree murder. At least, he hasn't been caught for it yet. He looks like he could be your guy."

"_Thanks Garcia…"_

"Of course baby cakes, now go get that little girl and Anna back."

--

Reid slapped his phone shut and turned to see all of his teammates and the two detectives looking expectantly at him.

He filled them in as fast as he could as they made their way out to the SUVs waiting in the driveway.

"Let's get out there and check it out." Hotch ordered them.

--

The tall man and his partner sat together at the long bar style counter in the kitchen. Their "home/hideaway," had at the comforts, a sub zero refrigerator, gas appliances, and a large stainless steel double sink.

Ben picked up the beer his partner had given him and sipped thoughtfully at it while looking around the white painted walls and the black and white jigsaw puzzle tile floor. He looked over at his friend who was drinking a soda and said.

"How long are ya gonna keep the little girl. Ya got what ya want now that the lovely Agent Sorenson is here."

The tall man eyed Ben over his glass of cola. "She goes when I say she goes…"

"Ya promised me I could have that one first. Ya promised me I could kill her this time. Instead, ya took her for yourself and now -"

The tall man reached over and shoved Ben's beer off the island to the floor where it smashed against the tile like a small bomb. The amber liquid sprayed all over the floor and their chairs, but he ignored that mess in favor of grabbing his friend and lifting him off his feet.

"Don't ya forget who made ya what ya are today?"

He threw the smaller man across the room they way a cat might toss a moss it wanted to eat. Ben slammed into the refrigerator and slumped to the floor. The tall man strode over to him and crouched down, getting right up into Ben's stunned face.

"You were pathetic when I met ya. I protected ya in prison, ya owe me. All the guys that hated your pretty boy looks and all the ones that loved your pretty boy looks, I kept away from ya in the yard, in the showers, and in the laundry. You're that one that told me all about your liking for little girls with red hair. I knew I'd found me a partner when we both got outta that cage. Ya promised me ya would do things my way. It's too late ta go back on that now."

Ben's head ached from its abrupt connection with the door of the refrigerator, but he kept his eyes on the floor the way his partner liked it. He staggered when him friend lifted him to his feet.

"Listen to me and listen to me good. This is over when I say it's over. If ya want ta keep breathin' ya will remember who's in charge.

The tall man had twisted Ben's arm behind his back and pain flared across his shoulder. He yelped and the tall man grinned down at him.

"Is that understood?"

"Yes…" Ben hissed and the tall man yanked harder on his arm, making him howl in pain.

"Don't sulk my friend, Soon the FBI agents will find us and we'll have a bit of fun before it's over."

"What did you do?" Ben yelled. This wasn't part of the plan.

"Don't worry… You knew this couldn't last forever. Now that we've taken one of their own, we'll never be free. This way we go out our own way. It'll be fun you'll see and we might take a few of them with us."

Ben smiled through the burning pain in his arm and the tall man let him go. Ben smiled despite his aching arm "Yeah… we'll have lots of fun."

"Come on my friend. I'm sure our lovely guests must be missing us. Let's go see if they missed us."

The tall man slapped his friend on the back and they both roared with laughter before heading for the door to the basement.


	16. Chapter 16

**_Disclaimer: See my profile _**

There he was again, riding in the back of an SUV that sped toward another psycho, another unstable mind that took pleasure in the kill. He should have been relieved, he should have been feeling triumphant, but something was wrong.

A hand closed over his in the darkness of the interior, "You're very quiet. Is everything alright?" Her voice had a tentative quality that hurt his heart.

"I don't know… I keep going over it in my mind and I feel like we've missed something."

"What do you think we missed?" She inquired knowing that he wouldn't be questioning his conclusions without a very good reason.

"I don't know," He repeated. "I don't know if there is something wrong or if being out here again is messing with my head."

The ghost of his old foot injury was flaring up and he winced in pain, glad that Emily couldn't see it in the dark of the truck.

"I don't think that's it," Emily said. "You never doubt yourself on a case without a very good reason."

He stayed silent for a very long time and Emily held his hand. She could almost see the wheels in his head turning. For a few minutes all that could be heard was the sound of the engine and Hotch speaking to Rossi.

Reid could see all of the geographical data in his head along with the maps he memorized at the station. It all shuffled around in his head seeking a pattern till suddenly it all fell into place.

"Of course…" He almost shouted.

"Reid…" Hotch said in unison with Emily and Rossi."

But Reid was ignoring them in favor of dialing a familiar number on his phone. The voice on the other end of the phone made him smile despite the situation, as she always did.

"_Goddess of the information super highway, this better be good." _

"Garcia, it's Reid," He said.

"_Baby cakes, you need to be patient I haven't found -"_

"I need you to confine your search to Springfield, Carlton and Temple City out to a fifteen mile radius around them." He interrupted.

He could hear her taping away at her computer and then she said. _"There was a burglary at Med-Town in Temple City a month ago. The finger prints found didn't match to any database except for one." _

"The Witness Protection program," Reid supplied.

"_Yeah… but you got to be a world class hacker to get anything out of that system without a court order and sometimes even that doesn't work. I've got the police report in front of me and the case is still open. The only thing that was taken was their entire supply of Prozac."_

"That's one too many coincidences for me."

"_I agree with you, that's why I'm running them against our friend Ben Michaels…" There was a very long pause and then she said. "I knew it!"_

Reid's heart began to slam against his ribs. Here was the proof they needed that Michaels was up to his ears in this.

"Why didn't the police find this?"

"_Because the Witness Protection Program keeps a tight lid on everything including their Marshals' finger prints and DNA, like I said, you have to have a court order, or a back door like I installed there the first day I was in the FBI."_

"Garcia…" He squeaked. "I don't want to know about it."

"_It's too late, you already know." She hung up on him._

Reid told the rest of the car's occupants about what he'd just learned. His eyes were adjusting to the darkness in the car and he could see Hotch's eyes in the rearview mirror looking at him.

"Reid… You're not telling us something.

"I just think this is all too easy. There's something we're missing. The address we're headed to is ten miles south of his hunting ground. All the kidnappings and murders occurred in three towns northeast of Atlanta. Why take them so far out of his comfort zone.

"Maybe he thought that would keep us off his trail." Rossi suggested.

"I don't know. This guy doesn't seem to care how close we get to him. It's like he's sure he's going to win."

_And kill Anna, you mean!_

"I agree with Reid… It seems too random to be part of the pattern. I think Saur's trying to throw us off the trail." Emily said and Reid squeezed her hand gratefully.

Then Reid's phone rang again and he answered it eagerly, "Reid."

"_Hey handsome… I found the scumbag that's been helping Ben Michaels at Witness Security."_

"Do I want to know how you tracked a mole in the Federal Marshals' office?"

"_No… I have to maintain my air of mystery somehow. Now pay attention, because I have a name and a new address for you."_

"I could kiss you Garcia." Reid exclaimed and then felt his face go red.

"_I won't tell Derek you said that," _She replied nonplussed.

"Thanks…"

"So the creep's name is Byron Workman. Fortunately for you, he's not as good as I am or he'd have hid in a better place. I tracked his money and found a numbered account in the Cayman Islands. Six months ago he bought a house just outside of Temple City about three miles away from the pharmacy. This time they stayed out of the woods and are in a ritzy neighborhood called Tanglewood Falls."

"Thanks Garcia, you're the best."

"_Of course I am… When will you learn not to question my greatness?"_

She hung up on him and he told the rest of the occupants what she'd found out. Hotch got on the phone with Morgan in the other SUV and told him to head to their original destination with the detectives and half the SWAT team.

Hotch turned on his siren and slid into a fast u-turn at the next intersection to a chorus of angry horns and yells. Then they were barreling off into the night in the opposite direction.

--

Anna and Carrie were sitting on the cot when the door opened to reveal Jared Saur and Ben Michaels. They both smiled widely at the girls and made sure they could see the weapons they carried.

"Hello Ladies… Did you miss us?" Jared asked.

Anna stood up to meet them, her eyes on the knife Ben carried and the gun in Jared's big hands. "Actually… I'm glad you two decided to come back. I was gettin' bored listenin' to this to this kid whine and cry about her family."

Jared grinned at her and his eyebrows went into the sheaf of very dark hair that fell into his eyes. He pushed the bangs away and said.

"Really…"

"Yeah… She's a whiny little thing. I'd say your taste in girls is deterioratin'." Her eyes held steady on Jared but she could hear Carrie sniffing in the background.

Jared grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. His dark eyes rushed over her face as though searching for something important and forbidden.

"Don't try trickin' me!" He whispered in her ear.

"I'm not tryin ta trick ya. I've had years ta think about what I did ta you." Her eyes fluttered down to the leg she'd stabbed.

Jared released her and pushed her back so hard she stumbled and almost fell. "I'm not stupid enough to fall for FBI tricks."

She lowered her eyes submissively and said in a low husky voice. "I made a mistake. I missed you so much. Why do ya think I came back home when I heard about the new killins'. I knew that I had to see you again.

She looked up and over at Ben. "I'm just lucky that old Ben here turned out ta be your partner. It explains a lot about him.

Ben bristled and took two steps toward Anna. "Back off," Jared said and Ben growled.

"She's tryin' ta trick us and keep us talkin'," He yelled.

"I know that," Jared said.

He yanked Anna to him. "You didn't think that pathetic trick was gonna work."

"I really meant -"

He slapped her across the face so hard her head flew back on her shoulders. She couldn't stop the cry that left her lips and he smiled again.

"Shut up and don't move. We're going to wait for your friends. You see, my contact called just a few minutes ago and your slow movin' friends will find us soon. When they do, the real fun can begin."

--

The black SUV turned to the right and passed through the open wrought iron gates at the head of a long driveway. The black top rolled up the hill and out of sight. The sea of lights that illuminated the road was almost blinding as they moved through the night.

The house at the top of the hill was new, but built to resemble an old Plantation house with two floors and white columns at the porch, which ran the whole length of the building. The lights were all ablaze inside and they leant their golden glow to the night.

Hotch parked and the vehicles carrying the SWAT team pulled in behind them. They piled out of the trucks and followed SWAT.

"Doesn't look like they're hiding," Officer Sweets observed.

"No… it doesn't, let's not disappoint them. But be careful," Rossi said.

_**A/n the suburbs and cities metioned in the chapter are made up by me as are there locations. Also the facts about the Witness Protection programs are just educated guesses, no real reasearch was involved. **_


	17. Chapter 17

**_Disclaimer: See my profile_**

The SWAT team dispersed around the huge home, checking the windows and doors carefully for booby traps. Reid paced back and forth between the three steps that led up to the door and the SUV he'd just exited while Emily watched him, her head tracking him like a hawk.

Hotch and Rossi watched him too, but it was Hotch to reach out and place a hand on his shoulder. "You have to let the SWAT officers do their job. I'm very worried about the 'warm reception,' we're getting. Their making no attempt to hide and I'm concerned."

"I know… I think they're both thinking suicide by cop. Jared Saur wants Anna no matter the consequences. He'll try to take her with him. He has no regard for Ben Michaels or Carrie Norton."

"Reid's right, we're going to have to be extremely cautious," Rossi added.

"Which is why you need to calm down and wait for the signal from SWAT?" Hotch reminded his youngest team member.

"I know…"

Then, the signal came over their radios and they followed the closest officer into the house. Rossi and Emily took off around the back of the house while Hotch and Reid entered the front door.

Reid was stunned at the sight that opened up in front of them. The house looked like a museum and was so tidy, he thought they might be able to eat off the floor. He and Hotch separated and Reid went right down a hallway with just one door at the end of it.

He jumped in surprise when his cell phone vibrated. He pulled it out of his pocket after shifting his gun to his left hand.

"Reid…"

"_Hello Dr. Reid," _a very cheerful voice said.

"Who is this?"

"_I think you know who this is Dr. Reid."_

"What do you want?"

"_Turn off ya radio. We don't want ya inviting' your friends ta the party." _

"No," Reid said.

"_Now Dr. Reid, don't be stubborn. Ya don't want me to mar Anna's beautiful face with a bullet." _

"I don't think so."

"_If ya want to save yer precious Anna, you'll do what yer told._

There was a scuffling noise and her voice came over the phone, _"Don't do it Slim… Don't be stupid!"_

Reid heard the sound of flesh slapping flesh and then the first voice said_. "Yer agent here is pretty feisty. If ya want ta see her without her brains splattered all over the ceiling, you'll come down here alone."_

"Alright…" Reid turned off his radio. "The radio's off."

"_Good, I'm glad you can be reasonable. Leave the radio on the table in the hallway and come downstairs quietly." _

Then there was just a dial tone and he was moving toward the door at the end of the hall. He could hear the agents around him moving through the house. He left his radio on the table and opened the door. He hoped that someone would find the radio and realize where he went.

The stairs went down to a basement with a concrete floor and lights set in the ceiling at three foot intervals. There were all on and there was only one door at the end of the hallway. He approached with his gun out and with a shaky stomach although his hands were steady.

The voice of Rafael began to speak in his head telling him that he was a sinner and that he couldn't hope to save the girls at the end of the hallway. He should have yelled for Hotch and the others, but what if that had got Anna or Carrie killed?

He opened the door with one sweaty palmed hand and stepped into the small room.

There was Anna sitting on the cot and a very tall and muscular man standing with a gun trained on her. The young girl with red hair and blue eyes stood in front of Ben Michaels who held her close and had a knife at her throat.

"Good evenin' Dr. Reid." Jared said in that same calm, and even jovial tone. "I'm glad ya were able to join us. Why don't ya put down your gun and we can talk."

"I don't think so…"

"Now come on Dr. Reid. Where's the buildin' of trust you FBI agents are so fond of."

"I can't build trust if I put down my gun."

"Then we don't have anythin ta talk about."

Jared nodded at Ben and the other man pressed the knife to Carrie's throat and the girl moaned. Her face was one solid mass of purple and black bruises, but her neck was pristine. Reid could see the single drop of red blood welling up from the tip of the knife.

"Ok…" He bent to put his gun on the ground.

"Not a smart move Slim…" Anna said in a hoarse tone.

"Be quiet," Jared snapped and slapped her again. "Now… ya have a choice ta make Dr. Reid. Which one of these lovely ladies dies? Will it be the beautiful Anna or the lovely Carrie? You've got two minutes ta decide. "

Reid's mouth went dry and his left foot began to ache again. He could hear Rafael asking him to choose a teammate to die.

"Kill me… let them go and kill me." He said.

"Now what makes ya think that I would rather kill ya?" Jared sneered, He reached out and dragged Anna roughly to her feet, holding tightly to her with his free hand.

"Because Anna and I have something you don't have. She loves me not you. You have to get rid of the rival for her affections and that's me. You think that after I'm dead you can shoot your way out of here."

"Slim… Shut up and just choose me." Anna said.

"I don't think so. I'm not choosing between the two of you, when it's me he wants to kill."

"I want my lovely Anna and if I can't have her in life, I will take death, but I'd prefer it if ya chose the beautiful Carrie."

Ben stood there grinning at Reid and nodding his head. His hand never wavered on the knife and Carrie was crying, tears rolling off her cheeks to his hand.

"No… I'm not choosing," Reid said.

"Slim, just choose me. I don't have anythin left ta live for anyway. You'd be doing me a favor."

"I said shut up bitch." Jared growled bringing the gun closer to her head.

"I'm not choosing you." Reid insisted.

"You've got thirty seconds, or I kill her anyway."

"No… I've been threatened by a homicidal maniac with Dis-associative Identity Disorder. I'm not afraid of you. If you have to shoot someone tonight... then it better be me."

"You're pretty brave with a vest on. What if I just aim for yer head?"

"Stop it…" Carrie was screaming.

"Shut up ya little bitch or you're dead right now." Ben said and more blood dripped down her neck.

"Just say the words Slim." Anna said as tears fell out of her eyes. "It's okay."

"Well, now isn't this touching? Did ya know that she thought I was you just a little while ago when she was out of her head? She loves ya Dr. Reid. I know that you've got another hen in the hen house… How would your precious Emily feel to know that Anna loves ya? If she heard what ya just said about lovin' my Anna, she wouldn't be real happy about it."

"Why don't you just shoot me and get it over with," Anna shouted.

"No!" Reid shouted back.

"Hm… I think ya just made yer choice."

Jared cocked his pistol and Reid dove for his gun. He fell to the floor and grabbed the gun, rolling over to his back as three gunshots rang out in the room.


	18. Chapter 18

_**A/n hello all, here is the next chapter. I have one more planned, an epilogue, which should be up soon. Thank you for your support and comments.**_

_**Disclaimer: see my profile **_

When Anna's eyes opened, the pain in her head was back again. There was light, and noise, and confusion in her. A pair of very concerned hazel eyes looked down at her and she wondered if it was a dream again. Had everything that happened to them been a dream? If it was, then it wasn't over and she wanted it to be over?

"Hey Slim…"

He touched her cheek and she knew it was real. She tried to get up, but another pair of hands held her down.

"Just stay put… ya got a nasty crack on yer head."

The voice wasn't familiar, but at least Spencer was real. "What happened?"

"Jared Saur was shot and so was Ben. I - I had to kill him, I s-shot him in the head. Hotch s-shot Saur and the bullet he wanted to p-put in Carrie went into the w-wall."

"Carrie…" She pushed against the hands and struggled to sit up. "Where is she, is she okay."

"When I shot Ben, he f-fell backwards and pulled her down with him. She cracked her head pretty good. S-she's on the way to the hospital. P-pretty much the same thing happened to you. Y-you hit your head. Y-you need to go to the hospital."

"I want ta go with Carrie."

"She's gone…"

"Then take me ta where she is."

Reid didn't try to stop her from getting up. He rose to his feet and caught her when she swayed and almost fell.

"See, you need to sit down." Reid said.

"I'm okay…"

"No you're not," The paramedic said, and made her lay down on the stretcher to take her out. "I'll see you at the hospital." Reid called as they rolled her out.

He looked around the room and saw that Saur was unconscious and hand cuffed to the stretcher. The bullet from Hotch's gun had caught him in the shoulder. Reid stood there wishing that Hotch had better aim as they took him out of the room.

"Come on Spencer, let's get out of here."

Emily put an arm around him, but he didn't feel it. Once again he had been made to play God with someone else's life. When was it going to stop?

He let Emily lead him out and up to the house, and out the door. The stars were shining and he could almost believe that nothing bad could ever touch him again.

--

Anna sat at Carrie's bed side waiting for the girl to wake up. She looked so fragile and like a small child that had been badly used. The doctor and the nurse that had looked after her hadn't wanted to let her come up and see Carrie, but Anna refused to stay still. She had to get back to Carrie and make sure that she was okay.

The bandage at the girl's throat was almost as white as her skin. The bruises that bloomed over her face and arms were black and purple. Anna knew there were other hurts that were hidden from eyes that only saw the outside. Those were the hardest to deal with; Anna knew that from painful experience.

"How is she?"

Anna hadn't heard JJ come in. She turned to look at the agent who was fresh of a press conference at the police station.

"She woke up, but the doctor sedated her when she freaked out. She's sleeping… She's so afraid," Anna let the tears she'd been hiding from everyone fall.

JJ put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "I'm glad you're okay my friend."

"It's really over?"

"Jared Saur won't see the light of day again."

"How do I tell her?"

"She's going to be okay."

"Will she," Anna asked?

"You're more then okay and you'll get through this together."

"Yeah… I don't know if we will."

"You will!" JJ insisted.

"What time is it?" Anna asked unexpectedly.

"It's quarter to eight."

"The doctor said that Social Services would be here at nine am. They'll take her away and I'll never see her again."

"That's not true; you'll be able to visit with her."

Anna sighed and tightened her grip on the girl's hand. "I don't think so. I'm going ta ask ta be her legal guardian."

"Are you sure you want to do that." JJ asked.

"Yeah… I want ta. I know what I'm doing." Anna insisted, her face set in determined lines and her blue eyes flashed.

In the hospital bed Carrie began to toss and turn and moan in her sleep. Tears were falling beneath her closed eyes and she squeezed Anna's hand.

"She needs me…" Anna said.

She leaned over the teen and kissed her forehead. She smoothed the red hair and pulled up the blanket the girl had kicked off in her sleep. She murmured to the girl and kept hold of her hand. After several minutes the teen calmed and slept.

"I need ta stay with her." Anna said.

"Alright… Listen the team is heading home. The others wanted to come, but -"

"I know you're busy." Anna said and she wouldn't look at JJ.

"I'll call you when I get back." JJ said and leaned down to hug Anna.

"Tell them I said goodbye."

_Tell him_ _I said goodbye._

"I will," JJ promised.

_I'll tell him you said goodbye._

_--_

Emily unlocked the door to her apartment and entered with Reid following her. He'd been silent on the trip back and hadn't looked at her once. She went to the kitchen and he went upstairs to their room. She made coffee and tried to decide if she should go talk to him, or leave him alone. In the end she decided that it was better to go up and talk to him.

He was moving from his ready bag, to the closet and the dresser with dogged determination, even though they were both exhausted. She watched him throw dirty clothes into the hamper without speaking after he'd repacked the bag. He went to the bed and sat down. She waited…

"I think it's a good idea for us to separate for awhile."

"Why," She said calmly.

"I can't be with someone that doesn't trust me."

"What makes you think that I don't trust you?"

"The first night we were in Atlanta," He slid over when Emily sat down next to him. "I went down to the bar for coffee and met Anna. We were just talking. Nothing happened except that she told me to go talk to you. You came downstairs and saw us. You thought we met there on purpose when it was just an accident."

"How did you know?" She didn't even try to hide it.

"I smelled your perfume in the hallway when I went back to the elevator. And, you were faking sleep when I came to bed. We've been sleeping in the same bed long enough that I know when you're not sleeping. That's why I said the things I said. You didn't acknowledge me, or say anything."

Her hands were shaking and she wanted to reach out and take his hand, but she couldn't make her hand follow her heart.

"I trust you Spencer, with my life."

"I know, but you don't trust me with your heart. You want to take care of me. I'm not your child. I'm a man."

"I know that… Don't you think that I know that?" Her voice was rising.

"I don't think you do. You become irrational because I email another woman who is a fellow agent and a friend. You wonder every time another woman looks my way."

"I know… I'm sorry baby. I went too far."

Spencer didn't say anything and it was beginning to scare her. He was right, but he was wrong too. She wanted to take care of him, but not because she thought of him as a child.

"Yeah… you did go too far. I could forgive that, but we have another big problem. You want to have a baby. I'm not ready to have a child. I don't know if I'll ever feel comfortable passing on my genetic material. You never listen when I tell you that. You just listen to your own desires to have a child before you get too old."

"Yes… I want to have a child, but not just to have a baby. I love you Spencer. I want to have your baby. I want us to be a real family"

Her throat hurt with the effort of trying to keep the tears back and her eyes stung. He wouldn't look at her as he'd stood up to get his ready bag.

"Please don't go…"

"I can't stay. I can't be what you want me to be. I tried so hard to love you and just be with you. I'm sorry."

"Then don't go… We can work it out."

"I have to go."

"This is about Anna. You've fallen in love with her." He looked at her with actual pity and her temper flared up. "Don't look at me like that!"

"I'm not in love with her, no matter what you might have heard last night. You know that was just to throw Saur off guard. He was jealous of what he thought was my relationship with Anna…"

"You're saying I'm jealous too. "

"Yeah… you're jealous. I'm not like other guys who look for one night stands and casual sex. I was with you because I wanted to be there for the long haul. Anna is my friend, that's all. But I can't convince you of that, can I? That's why I have to leave. Good-bye Emily…"

Emily was swallowing back tears and couldn't speak. He smiled a sad little smile and left the room. She stared at the door for minutes that stretched out like weeks before giving into bitter tears.


	19. Epilogue

_**A/n hey everyone, here's the last chapter. Thank you all for your support of this sequel. And thanks to my beta REIDFANATIC who corrects all my mistakes and lets me bounce all kinds of ideas off her.**_

_**Disclaimer: See my profile.**_

_**Epilogue **_

"How is she?"

"_She's okay. It's gonna take some time. But I understand how she feels."_

"How are you doing?"

"_I'm fine… The nightmares are getting better. Havin' her here with me helps a lot."_

"I'm glad…"

"_We've talked about Carrie and about me. How are ya Slim?"_

"Oh, I 'm fine… I really like my new place."

"_I'm not talkin' about the new apartment. How are things with Emily?"_

"It's over. There were just too many things in the way that we couldn't deal with and be happy."

"_I truly am sorry."_

"I know… It's just hard to lose someone you love."

"_Yeah… Listen Slim, I have to get back to Carrie, we're goin' ta go ta her house and pick up her things."_

"Okay."

"_Spencer, I just wanted ta tell ya that I love ya and have since the moment I met ya. I know that you're hurtin', so I don't expect ya ta say anythin'. Just know that I care very much for ya. If ya ever need anythin' just pick up the phone." _

"I don't know what to say. I really do care for you, it's just that right now…"

"_Ya don't hafta say anythin' like I said. There is no pressure on ya ta feel the same way. I just want ta be your friend for now."_

"Okay… Thank you Anna, I don't know what I would do without you."

"_You'll never have to find out, cause I'm always gonna be here no matter what happens. Good-bye Slim…"_

--

Anna taped up the last box they'd packed together. Carrie was sitting on the mattress that had been her bed and looking at a family picture. Tears were tracking down her cheeks as her fingers moved over the cold glass surface of the picture.

"I miss them so much."

Anna stood up and went over to the bed to sit next to the teen. "I know… But I promise that it's gonna to get easier."

"Really…"

"Yeah, and there's gonna be a doctor that you'll see, that will help you to deal with all of this. I'm going to see her too."

"Okay…" Carrie continued to stroke the glass above the faces of her family.

"Now… I have two surprises for ya." Anna said, pulling the girl to her feet. "I spoke with Social Services, and they said I could be your guardian, but I'll only do it if that's what ya want."

Carrie looked at her for a minute and then she smiled for the first time in weeks. "Yeah… I'd like that a lot." She said and Anna grinned back at her.

"Okay… I have ta sign the paperwork and then we get a visit from your case worker. After that it'll all be official."

She hugged the teen carefully as she was still bruised, but at least her face was looking better after three days in the hospital, and two weeks staying with Anna.

"I have another surprise for you."

"What is it," Carrie asked, some excitement creeping in to her eyes.

"Come with me," Anna said, leading her out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the utility room.

Anna opened the door and saw a golden blur run past her to the teen. The girl was almost knocked over by the dog's enthusiasm.

"Chester…" The girl dropped to her knees and hugged the dog while he licked her face and wagged his tail so fast, it was a blur.

"The vet said he's goin' ta be fine."

"Oh Chester… I missed ya so much."

The dog barked and pawed at the girl's shoulder. "Hey Chester be gentle and calm down. Ya got shot ya know." Anna said.

The dog looked at her and chuffed indignantly. "Ok… I guess you're all right."

Carrie's face dropped when she looked up at Anna. "But if I'm going to live with you, Chester can't come."

"Of course he can. I love this dog. He's a hero, and I think that him bein' alive is a very good sign for all of us."

"Really…"

"Yes really," Anna said, bending down to pat the dog on the head.

"Did ya hear that Chester, we have a new home?"

Chester barked his approval and wagged his tail hard. "I guess that's a yes." Anna said and they both laughed. The road that stretched before them didn't seem so long and who knew what lay around the next bend while they had each other.

THE END


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